Tempus Transitar
by voice-on-the-wind
Summary: It's the night of the Dementor attack on Harry and Grimmauld Place is in an uproar.  That is, until Sirius opens his mouth and they receive a strange pile of books...
1. When Sirius opens his mouth

_**I've just been attacked by Dementors and I might be expelled from Hogwarts. I want to know what's going on and when I'm going to get out of here.**_

_**Harry**_

Sirius Black looked up from the small piece of parchment covered in cramped writing at a loss for words. He was currently sitting at the kitchen table in the basement of the Black family home, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, surrounded by various members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Directly across from him sat Remus Lupin, still looking hesitant to relax in case Sirius jumped up and made a run for the door like he had when they first heard of the attack. At the other end of the table, as far away from the two friends as humanly possible sat Severus Snape, looking bored and unimpressed by all the fuss being made over the 'blatant disregard and disrespect for reasonable rules and restrictions that everyone else seemed more than willing to live with', as he had told Sirius when he first arrived, on Albus' orders, however reluctantly. For once, Sirius was in total agreement with Severus about his need to be there, but Albus had insisted on the dour man's presence in order to reaffirm that the Dementor attack was not instigated by Voldemort or any of his followers, and had then told everyone who was in Grimmauld Place at the time to stay put until he sent further notice about how the Ministry was reacting. So far, they had heard nothing since Arthur had sent his patronus outlining the fact that Dumbledore had convinced the Wizengamot (read "Minister Fudge", at least in Sirius' mind) to rescind the expulsion and hold off any definite punishment, or any punishment at all really, until Harry's trial later on in August.

The lack of news was starting to get disconcerting, and not only for himself, Sirius thought, as he observed the last person in the room, Molly Weasley. She had started cleaning up the supper dishes in an apparent attempt to rid herself of nervous energy now that the immediate crisis had passed and they were playing the patience-testing waiting game that Sirius found almost unbearable. He had been about to start interrogating Remus again on what he knew just to have something to focus on when Harry's owl had made her sudden appearance.

Sirius had expected Harry to try and get in contact with everyone at some point, having witnessed the boy's impatience and aversion to inactivity in the past year during the Triwizard Tournament, but not this quickly. It had barely been two hours after he had sent his own letter telling Harry to remain calm when Hedwig had swooped in from the front hall, dropped the letter onto the table in front of him, and then swooped back out and—from the sound of it—up the stairs, presumably seeking Harry's friends.

As if Sirius' thoughts had summoned them, the occupants of the kitchen suddenly heard two pairs of frantic footsteps descending towards them. In no time at all, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger burst in through the door, clutching identical pieces of parchment, with looks of both concern and confusion on their faces.

"What happened with—?"

"Did something go—?"

Both stopped suddenly, realizing they had spoken at the same time, and after exchanging a glance, Hermione took another step into the room. Despite the situation, Sirius had to smile to himself at the clear hierarchy within Harry's group of friends while also marveling at how well they seemed to know each other.

"Has something happened to Harry? His letters say something about Dementors, and Hedwig's in a right state."

As though to prove Hermione correct, Hedwig once again swooped through the kitchen door, landing in front of Sirius with an irritable hoot. After a moment, as if realizing he did not yet have a response for her to return with, she gave him a reproachful glare with her large amber eyes, and clicked her beak expectantly. If it hadn't been such a tense moment, Sirius would have laughed at the uncannily human expression the owl was using, though he felt a little guilty that he couldn't give her what she was clearly waiting for, due to Albus' hurried instructions he had sent while on his way to the Ministry.

So Sirius did the only thing he could think of at the moment, and shrugged at the owl, holding his hands up in surrender, as if to say 'this is out of my control'. He heard a quiet snort nearby, and assumed Remus was watching his silent conversation, but didn't look around to see whether the werewolf was laughing at him or not, since Hedwig had just narrowed her eyes into an even fiercer expression of disappointment than before. Now very uncomfortable with the owl's scrutiny, Sirius gulped and turned back to the room in general to see if anyone else had made more progress.

While the mini drama between man and owl went on, Molly Weasley had turned to the pair of students with a placating expression.

"It's nothing, dears, there was a slight mishap in Little Whinging, but everyone's fine and Professor Dumbledore is sorting everything out."

"Oh…Okay. That explains all the commotion we heard from upstairs. C'mon, Hermione, I'm sure the others are wondering where we ran off to." Ron turned back towards the stairs, seemingly mollified by his mother's explanation. Hermione, however, still looked slightly concerned, and it only took Ron a second or two to realize she wasn't following him. When he did, he turned around once more and gave her back a questioning look, since she hadn't bothered stopping her constant glancing between Molly, Remus, and Severus, as if trying to figure out who would be the most likely to give in and reveal some information.

"But, shouldn't Harry leave his Aunt's and Uncle's house as soon as possible, in case something else happens? I mean, Harry seems rather upset about everything, and I think he's expecting someone to get him out of there." She looked between all the adults as she said this. After a moment of silence that lasted just a bit too long for Sirius' liking (in his experience, not talking was a clearer indication of guilt than anything anyone could have said, and the fact that he was feeling guilty in the first place made him as uncomfortable as Hedwig's gaze had earlier), her expression changed from confusion to disappointed understanding.

"There's no plan to go get him is there?" She sighed, and looked down at her hands, which were nervously folding and refolding Harry's letter until it looked much older than the hour or two it actually was. At this, Ron whipped his head from where he had been looking at Hermione in confusion to his mother. When she stubbornly refused to give up anything, he moved on to Sirius, who once again felt uncomfortable and so avoided the gaze by pretending to re-examine his own letter from Harry. The red head turned to Remus with clearly growing frustration.

"So we're supposed to leave Harry dangling for the rest of the summer? Are we even allowed to explain to him what's going on, or is that classified, like the rest of the stuff we're not supposed to tell him about?" Ron's face was growing redder by the minute, and Sirius saw Severus roll his eyes at the sight. While the convict and the teenagers had been fairly vocal against leaving Harry entirely out of the loop, the Hogwarts potions master had repeatedly expressed his relief that the constant pandering to the boy's dramatics was finally coming to an end, whether said teen liked it or not. Remus, however, looked just as calm as ever, and Sirius felt a growing sense of confidence that Remus would be able to talk his way out of the situation, as he had done countless times when they were teens themselves.

"Ron, I understand your frustration with the situation, but at the moment, it is even more important for Harry to stay somewhere we know he's protected, _especially_ since we now know his neighborhood is vulnerable to attack. I think Harry would understand dealing with such a nuisance if the alternative was another Dementor attack, or something worse, don't you?" Remus' reasonable reassurance seemed to have calmed Hermione's doubts and fears, as she visibly relaxed and even nodded slightly at her ex-professor. Even Ron found himself reluctantly agreeing with the logic.

"I guess that makes sense…but if we don't explain it that way to Harry, I'm sure when he finally gets here you'll see how reasonable he is on the subject of being cooped up with the muggles for any longer than what he sees as necessary," he warned the adults. Sirius thought he might have been exaggerating, but when he saw Hermione roll her eyes in agreement, he had to rethink his assessment of Harry. True, he had grown closer to his godson while he was in Hogsmeade for the Tournament but, he reminded himself, the two teenagers in front of him had known the boy longer than that, so it might be smarter to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, that's fine then, since we haven't yet finished getting this house into any sort of suitable place for him to live anyway, since you lot haven't seen fit to finish cleaning out the rest of the bedrooms like I asked!" Molly suddenly jumped into the conversation, leveling a glare at her youngest son, as if sensing the drop in his defensiveness, and jumping on anything that would get him and Hermione to leave so they could finish their own discussion in peace.

"But mum! I told you already, Harry can just share my room, like at school and at home, and it's only for two more weeks. It's not like he's moving in here for good, is it?" Ron groaned and pouted, effectively cutting the tension in the room, and moving the focus away from delicate and secret information. Having lived with the Weasleys enough this summer, Sirius knew that once Molly took control of the conversation, there would be no more treading into difficult and restricted territory. Indeed, as Sirius watched, Molly expertly turned the conversation around entirely, making the teens look more stubborn than concerned as the minutes passed.

"Well, if that's how you feel, Ron, then you can sleep on the couch in the drawing room we haven't cleaned yet, and Harry can take the only bed in your current room, now can't he?" At Ron's outraged gasp, Sirius could practically see Molly's satisfaction at cowing her son. "That's what I thought. Unfortunately, it's too late tonight to continue on with any sort of cleaning, but tomorrow, the faster you two , the twins, and Ginny clean out one of the other bedrooms where you and Harry can share, the faster it might be possible to get Harry here. Go on now, you lot should by all rights be asleep already, I don't know where the rest of the evening went!" Molly's mutterings trailed off as she turned around to refocus on the dishes that had been previously interrupted.

Ron was clearly ready to keep arguing with his mother when Hermione turned toward him, grabbed one of his arms and practically dragged him out the door while saying over her shoulder, "Of course we'll work on one of the bedrooms tomorrow, Mrs. Weasley, good night!" And with one more tug on the captive arm when Ron looked angry enough to argue with _her_ about agreeing to clean, the pair passed into the hallway and let the door fall closed behind them, though not before Sirius caught one last glimpse of Hermione shushing Ron with a very meaningful glance that the Marauder knew all too well meant that bed was the last thing on either teen's mind.

Shaking his head slightly, he was unceremoniously brought back to the situation at hand by Hedwig, who had apparently gotten tired of waiting for a response that seemed never to be coming, and had taken it upon herself to bite Sirius on the thumb. _Hard_. Cursing, he swatted at the bird irritably, snapping back at her with words instead of a beak.

"There's not going to be any letters to Harry for awhile, you bloody feather duster, so why don't you go bother someone else, yeah?"

The only response he got was a wing straight in the face as Hedwig screeched and took off in a huff, to where exactly, Sirius didn't really care at the moment, since he had been ungraciously reminded of the situation as it had stood before Harry's unintentional interruption.

The fact was that they hadn't yet heard back from either Arthur or Albus about trying to keep the press and publicity of the attack to a minimum in the Ministry, nor did they yet have any concrete plan about what they _were_ going to do in terms of the rest of Harry's summer living arrangements. Sirius was in total agreement with Ron and Hermione that his godson absolutely should not remain at his relatives' house, and while he had supported Remus' stalling tactics, he didn't actually believe they were the best option to actively pursue and he meant for everyone he talked with to know that point blank. Unfortunately, Sirius' urge to argue with someone about his opinion at the moment was stymied.

Molly was still busy with the supper dishes; though Sirius suspected they had been clean even before Harry's letter had arrived. He figured Molly might just be trying to concentrate on something other than the fact that her husband still hadn't returned home. But by the way she was scowling at the stew pot in her hands Sirius suspected she might not be doing as good a job as she thought in distracting herself.

He wasn't going to tempt fate by interrupting her, though—he wasn't _that_ desperate for conversation, yet. He had the same thought when his eyes passed over Remus, who seemed to be staring intently at the kitchen door, lost in thought. Having known the mild-mannered Marauder for going on two decades, however, Sirius had an inkling that Remus was actually concentrating on listening more than thinking. He couldn't blame the man, having more than once caught a hint that there were adolescent eavesdroppers around during the Order's 'secret' meetings, though they had gotten harder to detect, and Sirius was sure the twins' inventiveness was at the heart of that mystery.

The only other possible person in the room to converse with was Severus, and Sirius might have survived living for twelve years in Azkaban, but he was not so much a glutton for punishment that he would attempt civility with his childhood enemy. And so, Sirius gave up on the idea of breaking the silence and tried to reign in all the thoughts that started racing through his head now that he had nothing else to do to avoid thinking about the situation Harry had found himself in.

He was spared the task of dealing with all but the most insistent thought, however, when the floo suddenly came to life and none other than a slightly worn-out Professor Minerva McGonagall stepped out into the dingy, poorly-lit basement. She seemed relieved when she glanced around the room and everyone she was expecting seemed accounted for. When it seemed like she wasn't about to start talking, Sirius quickly stood up, and opened his mouth to demand an update. Minerva must have seen this coming, however, and held up a hand to forestall his questions while turning to Molly with an expression of tired yet polite inquiry.

"You wouldn't be able to get some tea going, would you Molly? It's been quite a long evening, and young Harry always seems to find ways to strip me of my energy quicker and more effectively each year." She smiled slightly and made her way over to the table, where she settled herself into a chair in a way that—were it anyone other than Sirius' stern and upright ex-Head of House, he would have described as a collapse.

"Oh, of course, Minerva! Just give me one second and I'll put the water on for you, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Dear me, but you look exhausted! Were you with Albus this whole time? Have he and Arthur managed to rein in the potential aftermath of the attack in the Ministry?" Molly couldn't seem to help herself from bursting into a nervous litany of questions as she bustled around the kitchen, gathering up everything for last-minute tea while waving her wand at the kettle, which started steaming and whistling.

"No, actually, I've been dealing with the ongoing correspondence between Hogwarts, the Ministry, the _Daily Prophet_, and I don't know who else trying to answer as many questions about the upcoming school year for Potter as I can, going off what little information Albus gave me in the first place. He left me very hurried and vague instructions when he left his office, and I've been inundated with more owls and floo calls than even the Tournament last year garnered. I don't suppose any of you know more than I do at this point? Ah, thank you, Molly," Minerva inhaled deeply as she took the steaming cup and seemed to become visibly more fortified even before taking a sip. Realizing no one had yet answered her question, she glanced up expectantly with a raised brow.

Seeing that no one else seemed inclined to answer, and Remus was still half concentrating on the door, Sirius took a deep breath and said, "Well, that all depends on what you've heard, Minerva. The last time Arthur updated us Albus had just gotten through to Fudge and the Wizengamot that they couldn't technically expel Harry, so they had Mafalda send out another letter explaining about the trial and the delay of punishment. We also know Arthur sent Harry a letter of his own, though what that said is anyone's guess, since I don't even know where he found the time or an owl to do that, and I sent Harry a note as well, though he sent one back that makes it sound like he's not too happy with what little we could tell him." Sirius had to stop himself here, because Remus had given him a warning glance, and he realized his frustration was leaking into his voice, making it more of a low growl than anything else. Either Minerva hadn't noticed or chose to ignore this, though, because she nodded slightly and sighed.

"I thought so, and no, that's not much more than I know at the moment, either, though I do agree with Albus that it's for the best if Harry doesn't know exactly what's been going on. I know you think he's mature enough to understand Sirius," she added before the man himself could even open his mouth, "but, forgive me if I think I have a little more insight into Harry's reactions than you do. I have been his Head of House for over four years now, and if I have learned one thing about the boy, it is that when he has information he tends to act on it immediately rather than waiting. While I detest the idea of essentially lying by omission to a young man with little trust in adults as it is, in this case, if it keeps Harry safe and in one place, I think I can live with the decision." She finished her explanation with a determined expression on her face, and Sirius once again knew it would be useless to argue with her.

"Well Minerva, I would never have expected you to say something so revealing about your lions' weaknesses. Can it be that perhaps you have finally seen the incompetent arrogance in the boy I've been describing for all these years?" Severus suddenly drawled, with an interested and possibly even gleeful look.

"Nonsense Severus. I have no idea where you get incompetent arrogance out of what I said, but I am surprised that you call a trait you yourself exhibited more than once something of a weakness. Personally, Mr. Potter's distrust stems from something else entirely, but as I fall under the category of 'adult' he has yet to confide in me about such things." Minerva took another sip of her tea while Severus' complexion briefly looked as if it were going to turn red, but he quickly composed himself when he saw that Sirius, Remus, and Molly were all staring at the two professors as if they had never seen them before.

Indeed, while Sirius knew that the two Heads regularly sniped at each other about trivial things such as Quidditch and House points, he knew they were probably more in jest than either would care to admit, since they both had very similar sarcastic humors, as much as it pained him to admit that about his ex-professor and schoolyard target. Then what he heard caught up with his brain and he turned to Minerva questioningly.

"What makes you say he doesn't trust adults? He seemed fine when I was giving him advice last year, and I doubt he would have let Remus see him so vulnerable while learning the Patronus if he didn't trust him." As he said this, he turned to Remus for confirmation, but instead found his friend looking at Minerva with a somewhat serious and calculative expression. Minerva was looking at Severus, however, who was staring back at her intensely, with a complex expression Sirius couldn't decipher, though the two professors seemed to be having a silent conversation about something. Glancing at Molly, he saw that she was quite as confused as he was.

"Okay, is there some secret Hogwarts teacher code that's keeping you three from spilling the beans or something? Because that silent-conversation thing you're doing is making me even more curious. Remus? Fancy letting your oldest, dearest friend in on the secret?" Sirius played the last card he could think of to get them to talk, and turned to Remus with what he thought was a fairly good impression of a pleading puppy-dog look. Remus glanced at Sirius quickly, rolled his eyes, and took one more inquiring look at Minerva, who sighed and nodded her head while Severus sat back in his seat, once again silent and stony faced. She then turned to Sirius and gave him a sad, tired smile before finishing her tea and putting the cup decisively down on the table once more.

"Well, Sirius, the truth is…those two occurrences you mentioned seem to be the exceptions to the rule when it comes to Mr. Potter. He hasn't told you about his first two years at all, has he?" When she saw Sirius' negative shake of his head she looked down. "Well, I wouldn't want to reveal all the boy's secrets, but I can tell you that those two years were quite exciting in their own way, and yet the end results could have been avoided if he had confided in someone other than children his own age."

"Come now, Minerva, there's no need to be so delicate. The truth is that if Potter didn't have so much of his father in him, and didn't think keeping things to himself would make him look all the better in the end, there were many things that could have been avoided altogether, and in truth, we probably wouldn't have as many problems with the Dark Lord as we do now if the brat had just left well enough alone!" Snape spat suddenly, seeming to take Minerva's dancing around the subject as a personal offense.

"What do you mean? What happened Harry's first two years? Do you know anything about this, Remus?" Sirius was starting to get worried, and he hoped it was only his overactive imagination that made him think the reason nobody would explain things clearly was because of some tragic event that must have happened involving Harry.

"Well, Sirius…" Remus hesitated with a grimace, but seemed to decide that not talking would make his friend more upset, so he continued. "I did hear some stories about the two years before I went to teach, both from students and faculty, but they were so mixed up with each other that I have no idea if any of them are true, exaggerations, or pure fiction. Though there seems to be a recurring theme involving forests, snakes, chambers, dragons, and stones that pop up in almost all of the tellings I've heard, in various forms, so there must be some sort of truth in there. I can tell you, however, that in third year, I did personally experience Harry's lack of trust, and you did too, if you'll think back."

"Wait…What? What do you mean….oh, are you talking about the fact that you and Snape followed Harry to the shack after me?" At Remus' nod, Sirius tried to bring up as much of that encounter as he could, though that was a little difficult, given that he was a dog half the time, and their memories didn't work quite the same way as humans', he had also been more focused on getting to Peter to pay attention to anything else seriously, and the Dementors he encountered later that night had made a lot of what happened fuzzy in his mind.

The four other adults were looking at him now, as he muttered under his breath, trying to recall what exactly Remus was talking about. Minerva and Molly looked slightly confused, though this didn't surprise Sirius in the least, as many of the night's events had been kept under a very tight wrap thanks to Albus' quick thinking. Remus looked encouraging, and Snape looked slightly disgusted, though Sirius couldn't decide if that was because he couldn't remember something that seemed obvious to the greasy-haired spy or if it was because he was also thinking back on what happened that night, and his somewhat inglorious encounters with not only Fudge (as Harry had recounted that meeting to him once), but also the three Gryffindors' wands. Thinking back on the stunning incident (Sirius laughed to himself about the pun, fairly proud that he had kept his own well-worn name out of it completely), he suddenly realized what Remus was talking about.

"Oh! You mean the fact that you and Snape both had to use the map to see where me and the kids were?" At Remus' slightly relieved nod—he clearly had doubted Sirius being able to remember the tiny details—Sirius tried to figure out why this was significant. "What does that have to do with Harry's trust? Unless…the only reason you used the map was because Harry didn't tell you what he was doing, did he?" Once again, Remus looked relieved; though this time he was shaking his head in the negative.

"See Sirius? Even though Harry may have trusted me enough to get my help with the Patronus, he didn't trust me enough to come to me when he thought one of his best friends had been kidnapped by a giant black dog."

"Indeed, and it is the same reasoning behind his previous years as well, though I must admit I may be slightly more to blame for what happened in first year…..but that is besides the point." Minerva finished up abruptly, when she realized that the three younger men and the Weasley matriarch were staring at her curiously.

"Okay, so I get what you're saying about Harry's trust issues, but doesn't that argue that we should _tell_ him what's going on in order to gain his trust so that he will take our advice to heart and listen to us?" Sirius said, finally remembering why this whole journey down memory lane had started in the first place. He was damned if he wasn't going to at least play devil's advocate and try to get someone to tell Harry something, since it was such a big deal now that Voldemort was back.

"Are you really that much of an imbecile Black, that you've forgotten what we just said? If we give Potter even the smallest bit of information, one, he is likely to spread it around to his friends as soon as he gets the chance, two, he will probably try and get more information out of us when he realizes he can charm his way past rules put in place specifically for his own good, and three, even if he doesn't have all the information, he will act like he does, and like he knows best and go gallivanting off on some ridiculous crusade that will probably be more troublesome in the end than dealing with his temper tantrums about not getting any information." Severus sneered, clearly thinking that all the work done to convince Sirius about Potter's issues was a complete waste.

"Besides, Sirius," Molly cut in before Sirius could even open his mouth to form a comeback at Severus. "While I don't necessarily agree with Severus about Harry's inherent lack of consideration, I do think it is foolish to go and give him any information about what we're doing right now. He's just a child! He shouldn't have to worry about any of this, and I think he should be more focused on dealing with the idiots in the Ministry who are trying to get him expelled from school. I can't even imagine what he would do if he weren't allowed to go back. How would he be able to even find a job without taking his O.W.L.s?" Sirius rolled his eyes when Molly wasn't looking. He realized the woman was worried about how another war would affect her family, but he didn't understand how keeping all her children (and yes, he considered Harry and Hermione to be under Molly's definition of 'her children') ignorant of even the basic situation would help them in the long run. He was tired, though, and didn't want to get into another argument with her, especially since he had noticed that she was getting more and more nervous the longer Arthur failed to return from the Ministry. If he didn't show up soon, it would look like his wife had a permanent tic in her face the way she kept glancing at the fireplace every few seconds.

"I understand your concern for Harry, Molly, but don't you think that telling him this information would actually be _better_ if he did get expelled? Then he would be prepared for a war that he's going to get dragged into no matter what, even if he never finished the physical and magical training of regular students. It might even make the difference between him surviving and…" Sirius had to physically stop himself there, because he didn't even want to consider any other possibility besides Harry surviving this war.

"Well now you sound like you want to make him some sort of, of super soldier or something! He's just barely turned fifteen! The boy shouldn't have so much pressure put on him at so young an age! What if it destroys him, rather than helping him, hmm?" Molly was clearly getting into her stride, and Sirius was fast losing his resolve about not arguing with the woman. Remus was looking slightly exasperated, Sirius was sure, because he had heard this argument multiple times, and nothing he ever said helped resolve the disagreement. Minerva and Severus both seemed slightly more taken aback by how intense the two guardians had suddenly become, but also interested, as if they were trying to figure out which side they supported. Sirius could understand this as well, since neither professor was at Grimmauld Place often enough to have seen them go at it, and it was pretty much how Remus had acted the first one or two times he was caught between the two stubborn opponents.

He was stopped from responding to Molly's latest point by the floo activating once more, and seeing a very tired Arthur Weasley stumble out of the fireplace. Molly was at his side in an instant and leading him over to a chair by the table while once again gesturing with her wand toward the kettle and heating water for tea.

"Oh, Arthur, thank goodness! I wasn't sure you were ever going to be coming home tonight! How did everything go? Did Albus get everything back in order? Here, let me take your cloak. I'll just go get you a cup of tea, then, ok?" Molly hovered around her husband while also summoning the tea supplies she had never really gotten put away after Minerva's entrance. Only after making sure Arthur was comfortable and settled with a hot cup of tea, and banishing his slightly sooty cloak to the rack in the corner did she finally sit down herself, all the while watching him anxiously.

"Thank you, Molly; this is just what I need at the moment." Arthur took a very long sip of tea despite it steaming rather strongly still and seemed to pull himself together in an eerie display of déjà-vu from Minerva's entrance. "Well, the hubbub at the Ministry has finally died down, and the _Prophet_'s not going to print anything about the attack, though whether that's due to Fudge's persistence or Albus', I'm not sure." He seemed to drift off in his thoughts for a second, shaking his head sadly, but then pulled himself back to the present when Sirius made a not-so-subtle cough to indicate his growing impatience. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sirius, it's been quite a day. But anyway, Albus decided to remain at the Ministry for the night just in case anything else happens either in the offices or in Little Whinging, in which case he will be best placed to react quickly. Kingsley and Hestia are also remaining on duty for the moment in case there is anything we need to do, such as run interference at the ministry or go fetch Harry ourselves."

"So, Albus _is_ planning on getting Harry out of his Aunt's and Uncle's house then, yes?" Sirius jumped in as soon as Arthur finished speaking, unfortunately startling Molly, who seemed to still be more concerned about her husband's fatigue than the news he was relaying. "That's good," he sighed, suddenly realizing how late it had gotten while they'd all been sitting around and waiting for news. "The sooner we get him back here, the better I think all of us will feel, and the easier it'll be to actually answer his questions without trying to encode it or rebuff his attempts with issues about secrecy."

"Sirius, we were just discussing how Harry isn't to get any more information than he or the other children already have." Molly's stern voice had suddenly come back full force, and while Sirius was taken off guard he saw Remus roll his eyes again and Arthur sigh. Molly, focusing so intensely on Sirius, completely missed these little motions, and barreled forward with her argument, possibly re-energized by the sight of her husband finally being home. "Even Minerva, Severus, and Remus agree with me; while Harry has the best intentions, giving him information is dangerous, and that's not even taking into consideration Albus' new concerns about his scar!"

"But this is completely different! If we tell him what we know, he will trust us more because we're being truthful with him and it will curb his curiosity because there won't be anything else he needs to find out from other sources, _and_ he'll know that this is a much more serious matter than silly schoolyard trifles because it will have a direct impact on him and his future. I mean, clearly whatever he got up to didn't have any lasting effects, and couldn't have been as serious as facing Voldemort." Sirius argued, this time trying to add some weight by using the new information he'd learned recently about Harry. He was a little surprised by the reaction of the Weasley's however, and even by Severus and Minerva, all of whom had suddenly stiffened, while Molly had also started turning red, reminiscent of her youngest son from earlier.

"Don't you DARE tell me that what Harry did in either of his previous years is of little importance, or has little impact on our lives, Sirius." Molly had said it with such quiet and deadly force that Sirius all of a sudden understood how she could be related to the easy-going, yet very talented war heroes, the late Fabian and Gideon Prewett. He gulped and then followed through on his old fall-back from school every time he and his friends had ended up in trouble over their heads: he turned to Remus. The werewolf sighed, and in a very soft and placating voice turned to the Weasleys, who were still sitting extremely stiffly in their chairs.

"Molly, Arthur…Sirius doesn't understand, and unfortunately, I haven't had much time to fill him in on what happened, but I'm sure he didn't mean to offend or speak less of what you went through. Why don't you head on upstairs and retire for the night. It's been such a busy day, and we'll need to make sure that the children don't catch us off guard or become suspicious tomorrow." At Remus' words, the two red heads relaxed, and when Sirius nodded at them with an apologetic face, though he was still confused as to what he had said wrong and was getting frustrated by the reproachful looks from both Remus and Minerva, not including the fact that Severus' sneer, while not totally unpredictable, still rankled.

"All right, then, Remus, you're probably right. I'll just clean up the dishes from tea. Arthur, can you think of anything else you need to pass on from Albus?" She asked as she slowly got up from the table, and whisked the cups into the sink with a wave of her wand as she collected the rest of the odds and ends still lying about.

Sirius, however, had had enough. Maybe he was just too tired, and his brain had been worked too hard, but he decided that he was not going to back down this time. Before Arthur could open his mouth—though, to be fair to himself, Sirius later said it looked as though he was only going to shake his head and not say anything—Sirius butted in.

"I'm sorry, Molly, Arthur, I really am, for whatever I said, but I'm still confused as to what I did wrong." Once again, the two Weasley's froze, though Molly slowly turned around from the sink to face Sirius, and Remus put a restraining hand on his friend's forearm, as if in warning. It was, once again, Severus, however, that broke the awkward silence in a way that only the Slytherin Head of House could.

"Surely, Black, you can't be that dense as to not know why someone would ever be offended by something you've said?" He sneered, glaring at Sirius, with a little bit of actual surprise mixed in.

"What do you mean, Snape? All I want to know is what I said that got everyone's backs up. All I did was mention Harry's first two years, which, I'll remind you, we were talking of before without the same reaction." Sirius was determined to get to the bottom of this. Maybe it was a way for him to distract himself from the mess that his and Harry's life was right now, or he was suddenly feeling sympathetic to Harry's plight, but the mysterious goings on of his godson's first two years had been mentioned repeatedly without actually having any information given, and Sirius wanted answers.

"Sirius, you must understand," This time Minerva answered him, and it was clear that while she was keeping her patience better than everyone save Remus, her smile was closer to a grimace, and there was definitely tension in her voice. "One, as I said, if Harry hasn't told you himself, I don't think any of us have a right to tell you without first getting his permission. Two, I don't think this is the time or place to be discussing this. Three, I don't want you to overreact to anything that we might tell you and do something rash. I'm not that surprised, I'll admit, but you and Harry do have some rather similar reflexive reactions to certain things, and digging the past up right now is something that will not help anybody, the least of all Harry." By the time she finished, she was almost looking beseechingly at him to drop the topic, but unfortunately, her answer just made him all the more determined to find out what everyone was talking about.

"I appreciate your candor, Minerva," He started, in an attempt to remain as civil as she had during her explanation, though he had a feeling if he was pushed much father it would degenerate quickly. "However, at the moment, I think I'm sympathizing with Harry more than you wish, and I can totally understand why he resents not being told information, though at the same time being told it's important. Also, there are not many other places I can get this kind of information from at the moment. I can't ask Harry, since he is not here, and by the sounds of it, won't be for some time. I could possibly ask the kids, but they might not give me a very accurate version. Now, I HAVE asked you, but you have refused to answer me, so what else am I supposed to do? It's not like there's been books written and published that will tell me about Harry's past—"

WHUMPFFF!

Sirius was suddenly cut off by a very odd, muffled sound that he couldn't figure out the location of. However, when he stopped looking around the kitchen and focused back on the table, he saw an odd package wrapped in brown paper sitting right in the center. There seemed to be a cloud of dust settling around it, which had muffled the thump and made such an odd sound. There was also a note attached to the top of the package, but when Sirius reached out to grab it, Remus grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Sirius! You don't know if that's cursed or not! Why would you even think about grabbing it?" As he said this, Sirius looked around, and found that not only Remus, but everyone else had their wands out and pointed suspiciously at the center of the table. Molly and Arthur looked highly alarmed, while Severus wore a wary expression, and Minerva and Remus both had a look of slight curiosity on their faces. Sirius suppressed the urge to point out how being a professor must have corrupted Remus' marauder side, seeing as the tension in the room was almost thick enough as to be visible.

"Did anyone see where that came from?" Arthur asked hesitantly, looking around near the ceiling, as if he would spot an owl that obviously wasn't there. Everyone else was shaking their heads, but Severus had taken the initiative and was apparently trying to see if there was any magical signal coming from the oddly thick box that might indicate who, or what, had prompted the delivery.

"No, but I can tell you this definitely didn't come from any Death Eater, and anyone in the Order would have sent a patronus along beforehand. Black, are there any wards around here that prevent specific things getting in so we can eliminate some possibilities?" Snape looked almost civil when asking this, but Sirius just put that down to him being distracted by the spells he was still casting.

"Not that I know of…my father was really more concerned with people physically finding and travelling here rather than mail being delivered, so I think we can rule out there being a person in there. Why? Is there some sort of magical signature on it?" He said, curious now because Snape had started paying more attention to what he was doing, even going so far as to mutter under his breath while still keeping up the constant wand motions. When he didn't appear to hear Sirius, Minerva stepped up to her colleague's shoulder, and asked quietly,

"Severus? Is something wrong?"

This seemed to jerk the man out of whatever trance he'd been in, because he looked up at all of them with a faint frown on his face.

"There is a magical signature present, but only in the note on top, and not in the actual package. It's odd, however, I feel like this signature is familiar to me, like I've met whoever sent this before, but at the same time, there's something different about it as well…it's changed somehow." Seeing Severus so confused by this, the rest of the adults exchanged nervous glances, unsure of how to react to this revelation. Remus appeared to decided that if no one else was going to ask, he would.

"Is it…do you think it's dangerous?" Severus looked up again—having previously gone back to muttering spells—and shook his head slightly.

"The signature seems fairly tame, or faint, similar to a Howler, I believe, though clearly that is not what it is." He shook his head again, apparently more disturbed by the fact that he couldn't identify what was going on with the package than the fact that there wasn't a howler attached to it. Sirius, in his usual manner, decided that enough was enough, and the suspense was killing him, so before Remus could grab his arm again, he reached out and plucked the sealed note off the top of the rectangular box. When he brought it closer, he noticed that the paper was very odd: it was silver, and it shimmered, almost like the surface of a puddle, but the texture was solid and as smooth as satin. Before he could make any more observations, however, the envelope opened itself—once again endearing itself to Howler comparisons—but instead of a voice, white vapor poured out into the air until there was enough to make out the opaque, iridescent form of a hare.

"A patronus?" Remus muttered to himself, but was quickly shushed by Sirius when the hare started speaking in a dreamy, light voice that everyone, except Sirius, recognized instantly.

"Hello, everyone. I'm sure you're wondering what is going on, but I can assure you there is nothing bad or even suspicious about this package you have received. I realize that there are probably Hogwarts professors there, though I can't be sure, as this delivery is not set in stone, and we were simply waiting on the cue to send this through. A very impractical system, I know, but there are some things you can't mess around with too much, or you risk going backwards, you know. That's why sometimes its pays off to be slightly narrow-minded, but really in the end I think that's too much of a sacrifice…" Here the voice paused, as if thinking to itself.

As the silence stretched, Sirius took the chance to look around at the others. They were all staring at the Hare still, though the Weasley's looked utterly bewildered, Remus looked like he was concentrating very hard on understanding what he was hearing, Minerva just seemed to understand the situation, but she still had traces of confusion on her face, and Severus looked bizarrely satisfied about something, while also intrigued, as if he knew something, but didn't understand why he was correct. Sirius knew his face probably matched the Weasleys', since he had absolutely no idea what was going on, but since at least some people did, he wasn't willing to admit that out loud, especially with Severus in the room. Then suddenly the voice returned.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot myself a little there. Anyway, if there are any Hogwarts professors present, then yes, this is Luna Lovegood that you are hearing, though I'm sure you may realize that I'm much older than I was when I was in school. You see, here in the Department of Mysteries, we—that is, the Unspeakables—have been studying Time, which in itself is a fascinating subject, especially if you talk to other creatures about their views. The centaurs are quite unique in that they have a very broad definition of time, though I'm afraid that causes a lot of confusion when they say things like "soon" and that turns out to be one hundred and fifty years later.

"In any case, I'm not talking about how centaurs measure time, but rather the timeline of witches and wizards. This is really more of an experiment than anything else, but ever since I found a Crumple-horned Snorkak in the forests of Albania, Head Unspeakable Yallay tends to believe me more often than not. So, this package is actually a package from my time, your future, though depending on when the key was given, I'm not sure how far in the future for you, but hopefully, someone was curious enough to use the key before Harry Potter got out of school. Otherwise, I'll have made all this effort for naught, and poor Harry won't ever get rid of his Wrackspurt infestation until too late. The poor boy would have had such an easier life if those dratted pests weren't flying around and making his reasoning fuzzy." At this point, Minerva and Remus let out small, quiet chuckles, clearly familiar with, and clearly fond of this Luna girl Sirius was listening to. He even noticed Severus, while rolling his eyes, had less of a frown on his face than was usual for the dour man. Intrigued, Sirius continued to listen.

"Wrackspurts or not, Harry Potter is a very nice boy, and since I needed to test out this new device, I decided to help one of my friends out as well, especially since he helped me out on so many occasions. In order to do this, I decided that I would help Harry out with his scar. I don't know if you know this, but Harry's scar from You-Know-Who is somewhat troublesome, and he's so much nicer when it behaves rather than giving him headaches. So to get rid of the headaches I have sent him these books, so that he can kill You-Know-Who that much quicker and become the nicest Head Auror that I've ever met. Oh, dear, me, I don't think I was supposed to tell you that. This whole time thing is a little tricky, because I don't want to cause any paradoxes, because you know how the saying goes; 'a pair of doxies, cute at first, then they make ten more, and it's the worst'. Ah well, I hope this doesn't cause too many paradoxical problems, but I don't think this recording can be edited." By this point, Sirius wasn't sure what the actual message was supposed to be about, but he was enjoying the girl's sense of humor, at least, so he let a little laugh escape and settled down for however much longer the girl—woman?—would go on about Harry and his headaches.

"But back to the books, they were actually Hermione's idea, and I was quite surprised she let me borrow them, because she has always been the hardest person to talk to about time. I think she once had a bad experience with a time turner, but that was all rumors in school, so I'm not sure. The books, though, are almost like a dairy of sorts, a collection of Harry's memories, with some others added in so it doesn't get too boring. I do hope Hermione didn't put any of her memories in, though, because then you might not finish the books until I meet you in person." Here, not only Sirius, but Remus, Minerva, and the Weasleys all let out a laugh, since they were all quite familiar with Harry's bright friend.

At the same time, Sirius just caught the end of Severus mumbling what sounded suspiciously like "Merlin save us, I hope Lovegood's right or we'll never leave." Smirking to himself, he turned back to the hare, which was still rambling in the dreamy voice.

"…would be nice to meet you, though, so we'll see. Unfortunately, sending you this package is enough of an experiment without me trying to stop time as well, so good luck finishing them all. I do hope you read them together, though I don't think it really matters who listens. It would be nice to hear them myself, especially since they are about before Harry gave me real friends, and I didn't get a chance to read through them before the key was activated, which I suppose is a good thing, because who knows if I would have ended up with all of you? But in any case, enjoy the books, and I hope Harry feels better when they're over, and thank you to whoever keyed the books by asking about Harry's past and got my Tempus Transitar to work!" In a bright flash, the hare, the envelope, and even the brown paper all disappeared, and the five Order members were left staring confusedly at each other and at the pile of seven books sitting in the middle of the table.


	2. When the teenagers find out

**AN: Hey there everyone, sorry there was a total lack of author's note or disclaimer in chapter one...this is my first story and apparently I haven't quite figured the whole uploading process out yet. But anyway, ****HI! welcome to my story, of which is being written with the help of my sister, and yes, I am aware of how cliche the idea is, but what can I say? I'm a follower, and somewhat of a 'reading the books fic' stalker, so if it's out there, I've probably read it. As such, I finally decided that I should probably add my own opinion to the mix. So please, feel free to give me your opinion, good, bad, ugly, whatever, because I'm seriously curious to know whether or not anyone other than those related to me enjoy what I write. But if you don't, I won't hate you, I promise. So, without further ado...**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just one of the thousands of copies of the series out there.

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><p>The following morning found Sirius and the rest of the adults once again in the kitchen, though thankfully after getting some sleep. Sirius wasn't as rested as he would have liked, due to his restless night revolving around the possibility of Harry turning his back on the Animagus, but he wasn't going to dwell on that disturbing image more than he already had. Instead, Sirius turned back to Remus and Arthur, while Molly bustled around the kitchen as usual, cleaning up the breakfast remains. The previous night, when they had agreed to wait until morning to decide how to proceed, they had thought it better to remove the books from anywhere curious and bored teenagers might discover them, which effectively ruled out pretty much any room at Grimmauld Place. So they had sent the pile back to Hogwarts with Minerva and Severus for the night, agreeing to meet back up the next day to decide what to do.<p>

Sirius thought Remus didn't look any more rested than he felt, though Arthur and Molly seemed slightly more relaxed than they had the night before. Rather than trying to ignore the troll in the room, Sirius took a breath and turned more fully to his friend.

"So, Remus, have you come up with any reason why you think the future version of one of your students decided to send us some Harry-centric reading material? It can't simply be because she thought we were bored enough to need a distraction." Sirius added his best flattering smile at the end there, just in case Moony needed any extra persuasion to start talking. Remus rolled his eyes at that, but opened his mouth to answer anyway after taking a sip from his tea.

"As a matter of fact, Sirius, I have thought about that, and while I think Luna was a little vague in her correspondence, I think she was trying to say that we should use the books to possibly change how we move forward in the war." While Remus had been talking, the floo had flared, admitting Severus and Minerva into the room, the latter carrying the pile of books in her arms.

"Surely, Lupin, you are not suggesting we do something so irresponsible as to cheat fate of its intended course by listening to some possible incarnation of a perpetually-woolgathering Ravenclaw." Severus sneered, clearly in no better a mood than the previous night, and having caught the last of Remus' thought.

"Actually, Severus, I am, if this 'possible incarnation' can help us defeat Voldemort sooner, something I think would be beneficial for all of us, including you," Remus responded pointedly ignoring the slight on Luna, knowing the Potions Master wasn't insulting the girl so much as relieving his annoyance at the situation she had put them in. When all he got in response was another sneer, he just sighed and turned to the other professor, who had proceeded to the table and put the books in the center again. "What do you think Minerva?"

Before the older woman answered she turned to Molly, accepting another cup of tea from the Weasley matriarch's seemingly-endless supply. "Well Remus, I may not be as skeptical about the source of these books as Severus, but I do think there may be some ulterior motive in handing us priceless information such as this. What that motive is, however, I haven't a clue."

"Are we even sure that the information in the books is true?" Arthur asked quietly, and everyone turned to him in confusion. He picked up the top book, titled **Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**, and gestured to the front cover. "According to this, the author of these books is some J.K. Rowling, not Hermione, and most certainly not Harry. I know the Luna we heard said they were Harry's memories and all, but I know in the muggle world they have these things called 'friction' books, which are like our Beedle and Bard stories, but for adults. Who's to say this isn't one of them?" At this thought the older redhead looked interested in the book he was holding for a whole new reason.

"Well, the only way to know would just be to read the books and see if it matches up with everyone else's memories" said Sirius, clearly getting more excited than anxious about reading as the discussion continued.

"I have to agree with him," said Minerva, "the only way to find out would be to read, but it would be very suspicious if all five of us just disappeared for a few days, especially since me and Severus should be at Hogwarts preparing for the upcoming school year and you, Molly and Arthur, have to worry about work and keeping the children occupied."

"Are you suggesting we let other people know about these books?" Remus asked hesitantly, thinking hard. "I suppose that's not out of the question, but I would suggest we try keeping this as low key as possible. If we get the whole Order involved we might all be too preoccupied to notice some crucial movement on the part of Voldemort or the Ministry, which would cancel out any good reading about the future might do." At this, he saw Arthur, Minerva, and Severus nodding along, while Molly had started twisting her hands nervously around her own teacup, and Sirius seemed to be getting more and more impatient. Remus figured the thought of actually doing something productive was so seductive, any delay on their parts was frustrating the house-bound man beyond belief.

"Personally, I know taking a few days off work wouldn't be that much trouble at the moment, since our incoming incidents have slowed significantly and I'm sure Perkins could handle the paperwork on his own for now. And as far as being on duty goes, I think the rest of the Order who actually work in the Ministry could pick up our slack for a few days, especially Tonks and Kingsley, since the Aurors always seem to be in the office more than any other department. We would simply have to come up with an excuse and then ask them to cover for us." He looked towards Remus, as if seeking approval, since he had been the hesitant one in letting others know the true situation. The werewolf in question nodded his head, but before he could say anything, Severus jumped in.

"Should we perhaps inform Albus? He would be able to keep the questions from everyone else to a minimum easily."

"No!" Everyone jumped as Sirius yelled out vehemently. When he received numerous questioning looks at his outburst, he clarified. "I'm sorry, but the way Albus has been recently with keeping information quiet, I think he'll either convince us not to read, or take the books so that he can glean anything significant from them, and we'll be left never seeing hide nor hair of them again. And if I can't read about my own Godson's years at school, both past and future, I'll make damn sure he can't either!" It was clear from his tone that Sirius was still angry that the Headmaster was purposely keeping Sirius under house arrest, while also keeping information from Harry that his godfather thought should have been shared.

"Once again, I must agree with Sirius." Minerva sighed, looking almost amused that this had happened twice in the span of an hour. "Albus has always had a penchant for playing things close to the vest, and I think the opportunity for more people than he might trust implicitly knowing things he may not, or may not want to share, would make him nervous about going along with this." She sighed again, this time looking specifically at Molly. "And while Arthur has solved one of the other problems I raised, I think the only option in trying to keep the teens corralled would be to let them in on the reading as well. They will find a way to interrupt, or realize we are keeping things from them if we don't," she pointed out, almost apologetically, still looking only at Molly. She _almost_ flinched when the red head's face started flushing and her hands tightened around her cup.

"Absolutely not! How are these books any different than the Order information we're keeping away from them? Especially since they shouldn't even be involved in ending this war in the first place, and won't have to be if we read about how to defeat You-Know-Who!" Her voice had started rising, and was taking on a shrill quality, but she was prevented from continuing by a bang as the kitchen door suddenly opened and bounced off the wall. This was then followed by a very angry-looking Ron Weasley marching through the opening, with the sound of groans and a faint "Ron!" echoing after him.

"Mum! Me 'n Hermione are Harry's best friends, and have more of a right than you to know what's going to happen to him! Besides, there's no point in keeping half the information from us, since we've basically lived through it all already." He added, as an afterthought. Then he seemed to realize what he'd just done and his face turned a bright red, though looking no less determined. None of the adults seemed to be able to find a response for a moment, and the silence apparently let any other eavesdroppers know it was okay to venture into the basement, as a hesitant Hermione, and three just-as-angry Weasleys proceeded through the door. The fact that Ron was still breathing seemed to give Hermione a boost of confidence, because she stepped up next to him, looking anxiously at Molly. Remus was vaguely reminded of their very similar entrance the night before, and couldn't help but smile at how unconscious the friends were to the camaraderie they shared. Before Hermione could say anything, though, Mr. Weasley sighed loudly, though Remus thought it more so to cover up the small smile on his face rather than in irritation. He himself had to battle back a chuckle, since he and Sirius had agreed weeks ago that the teenagers were getting more information than their mother thought.

"Have you all really been listening behind the door this entire time?" He looked at the ceiling suddenly, as if to avoid the sharp gaze his wife sent him. Meanwhile, the twins grinned at each other, and turned to their father.

"Dad, how could you make such baseless accusations? Listening at doors! That would be so childish of us." One of them—Remus thought it might be Fred—said, shaking his head mournfully.

"Yea Dad, it's not like all five of us had out ears pressed to the keyhole…that would be spatially impossible." The other one—presumably George, if Remus was correct—tried to keep his face as serious and disappointed as possible, but one glance toward his twin and neither could help but crack and start laughing. Ginny seemed either totally nonplussed or way too used to this to be bothered, and rather just shared a look with Hermione, both girls rolling their eyes, while Ron tried to poorly cover up a guilty expression. Mr. Weasley merely sighed again, clearly not game enough to try and get a real answer out of any of them.

"Well, then, since you're not denying that you were listening at all, how much did you hear? I thought you were upstairs trying to clean out one of the third floor bedrooms?" Molly nodded fiercely from behind her husband, glaring at her older sons in particular, as if they had dragged the three younger ones along for the ride.

"Well, we _were_ cleaning, but then we found this nest of…things…under one of the beds, and one scratched Ginny on the arm, and it's turned kind of purple, so we thought it would be better to see if Sirius knew what they were," Hermione began, still looking nervous, though less and less the longer they stayed in the kitchen. Before she could continue, though, Ginny was set upon by her mother, who dragged her to the table while simultaneously pulling out her wand and muttering about wasting time with 'this silly spying business.' Unfortunately, the young red head didn't seem too happy about this.

"Mum, please! I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt anymore, and it was shallow, so there's hardly any blood. Besides, we only stopped to listen when we heard Sirius shout. So there you go, dad, we didn't hear a lot, but we've pieced together most of what you're talking about. Besides, how do we know these books aren't cursed or anything?" Ginny's face suddenly took on a fairly haunted look, as if remembering something, turning away from her fussing mother to her father worriedly. He reached over and squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Don't worry Ginny, there's nothing even remotely magical about these books, Professor Snape was very thorough in his testing when they first showed up, and since then we haven't seen anything out of the ordinary." He soothed, and Ginny's shoulders relaxed back and she turned around to look at her now-healed arm. Most of the occupants were now sitting down, as the boys and Hermione had made their way over to chairs while Molly was working on Ginny's cut, and now she turned to them in general and asked,

"If you're sure… I know Sirius said the books were about Harry's years at school, but what exactly does that have to do with You-Know-Who?"

"Well, we're not totally sure ourselves, but if we read we may find out." Sirius said, his enthusiasm showing through once again in a grin. Molly harrumphed under her breath, as if unhappy with both the fact that the children seemed to be involved despite her opinion and the fact that Sirius seemed to assume they were going to be reading. Hermione, who looked to have been deeply contemplating the pile of the books still sitting innocuously in the center of the table, straightened up, and after glancing quickly towards Molly, turned to the professors. Remus had a funny feeling that the young witch felt more comfortable debating with a professor rather than the formidable mother of her friends.

"Well, if you think about it, so far in Harry's life he's met face-to-face with You-Know-Who four times, so maybe we could learn something from those encounters?" At the blank looks she received, she gulped, and glanced at the rest of the adults in the room. Everyone besides Ron, Remus noted underneath his own shock, seemed surprised by this tidbit of information. Indeed, when the werewolf looked at Sirius closely, the man had gone fairly pale under his black hair, and was staring at the fifteen-year-old as if she had just revealed herself to be a Slytherin. Clearly the stares were disconcerting her, but she started up again, still determinedly talking to mainly Minerva now. "Also, if you're worried about the events being false or anything, Ron and I are the best people to tell you if what it says actually happens, since as Ron pointed out earlier, we _were_ there for much of what went on during school."

Minerva was nodding along with the girl by this point, and Remus could see that even Severus seemed to be swayed by such a strong argument. He knew Sirius was already up for letting the teenagers join them, and even Remus had to admit that the idea held more merit than barring their presence did. As everyone was digesting this, he saw Arthur turn to Molly, and the couple appeared to hold a whole conversation silently with their eyes—as married couples were wont to do—and suddenly Molly slumped down and sighed heavily, slowly nodding her head.

Apparently, in the Weasley household, this was a signal of acceptance, because Ron started nodding his head enthusiastically at a bemused Hermione, Ginny leapt up and hugged her father, then her mother, and the twins high-fived, and shouted out happily. Of course, because the kitchen door was still open, this set off the portrait of Sirius' mother, and as everyone rushed at the same time into the main hall, the front door opened, and Bill Weasley walked in, stopping abruptly when he saw how crowded it was.

"Hey everyone" he said hesitantly, "who set off Mrs. Black this time?" He looked knowingly towards the smirking twins, since they were the main reason people ever seemed to raise their voice in the dreary house.

"Oh! Bill, I didn't realize it was so late already, did you just get off guard du—" Arthur was rudely cut off by Molly's glare, looking sheepishly towards the now eagerly listening teenagers. Bill laughed good-naturedly though, and answered his father.

"Yeah, Dad, but on the way home, I was stopped by Dumbledore. Apparently, Augusta Longbottom tripped over a 'trevor'—whatever that is—and broke her hip. She was taken to St. Mungo's and fixed up pretty quickly, but since she's so old, her bones are still stiff, and she asked the Headmaster if there was anywhere her nephew could stay for the two weeks before school, and he thought of us, so…" Bill trailed off as he was interrupted by Ron.

"You mean, Neville's with you?" In answer, the eldest Weasley son stepped aside and revealed yet another teenager, this one slightly chubby and looking thoroughly intimidated, carrying a strange potted plant in his arms and an older, battered-looking trunk floating a few feet off the ground behind him. Before the poor boy could get his bearings though, Molly seemed to fly out of nowhere, waving her wand and ushering boy, plant, and trunk into the hall, fussing over him in the way only a mother could.

"Oh, hello dear! Of course, Bill, we'd love to have him here for the rest of the summer, it's no trouble at all! Now dear—Neville, was it? I'll just put your trunk up in Ron's room, I hope you don't mind sharing, we haven't cleaned out all the bedrooms yet. Are you hungry at all? How's your grandmother doing? The poor dear, I can only imagine how frustrated she would be with her body giving out on her like that, I've heard she still has a formidable wand arm, though…" The red-haired matriarch trailed off as she led Neville into the kitchen, the rest of the group following behind, with Bill and Arthur talking quietly together. Remus saw Sirius still struggling to cover up his mother's portrait, though someone seemed to have silenced her, so he went over to help.

By the time the two Marauders made it back into the kitchen, most had been seated at the table, Molly still practically hovering over Neville, while the Weasley boys were trying to stifle laughs and avoid the slaps Hermione and Ginny were trying to distribute. On the other end of the table, furthest from the door where Remus and Sirius stood, Arthur and Minerva seemed to be explaining to Bill about the books, and their plan to go ahead and read them. Severus, Remus noticed, was once again lurking quietly in one of the shadowy corners, as though trying to disappear, yet also still not miss any conversation going on around him. Arthur was coming to the end of his explanation when Remus sat down beside him, Sirius on his other side.

"…and, since Hermione's right about determining if they are true or not, we're going to let the teenagers listen in as well. That was when you came in, so really, you haven't missed much." Remus chuckled and couldn't agree more with Bill's incredulous expression at Arthur's slightly understated observation. Bill then shook his head slowly, clearly trying to come to terms with what he had just learned, while Remus could also hear Ron and Hermione giving Neville a slightly more exaggerated and energetic summary of the same events, with lots of gesturing towards the pile of books still sitting in the middle of the table between the two groups.

"So, you said these books are from the future, correct?" Bill asked succinctly. When he received more than one affirmative nod he continued, "But who sent them? There wasn't a note or anything, was there?" At this, the younger generation all stopped talking to listen, which Remus couldn't blame them for. If they truly had only been listening in this morning, they would have missed the whole Luna-patronus-letter display and reactions by the Order members.

"Ah, well…there was a note, but it was more of a patronus-message that came out of an envelope, and then it disappeared when it was finished." Sirius took the liberty of answering this time, since it seemed like both the Weasleys and the professors (Remus included) were reluctant to share such a fantastical account with children who would have no trouble mocking all of them except perhaps Severus. The dog Animagus shook his head slightly at the bewildered looks and kept going. "The patronus was speaking in the voice of an Unspeakable from the future, who identified herself as Luna Lovegood, and she seemed familiar enough with Harry and Hermione to use their first names only to identify them." At this, most of the teens looked extremely confused, all except Ginny, who gasped, her eyes going wide.

"You mean _Luna_ sent the books? And she said she was friends with Harry?" At more hesitant nods and questioning glances from adults and children respectively, the girl seemed to pull herself together, and asked with a confused if not slightly steely glance, "so, why isn't she here? Shouldn't her past self get a chance to experience the books her future self worked so hard to send back? It only seems fair to me."

"You're right, Ginny, we should invite the girl over to read with us." Sirius nodded decisively, and looked at all the Order members, as if waiting for some sort of agreement. When Molly looked like she was going to object to another teenager, he gave her a hard glare and said, "It's still my house, Molly, no matter what Albus is using it for at the moment, so that means I have final say in who gets to be a guest." He finished with an air of finality that no one could argue with, and Remus was impressed despite himself. To dissolve the tension starting to come from Molly's direction, he asked a perfectly practical question that he thought would move the proceedings along faster than they were going on their own.

"Well, in that case, Ginny, do you know where she lives, so we can go extend an invitation, and get permission from her father?"

"Yeah, professor, she actually lives near the Burrow, so Mum or Dad should be able to get you there." She nodded, looking relieved that everyone seemed to be taking her suggestion seriously. With that problem sorted out, Remus then turned to Minerva, hoping Albus' deputy-headmistress might have a good idea to overcome the next obstacle.

"Minerva, do you have any idea how we're going to include her under the Fidelius without letting Albus know what we're keeping from him?" He asked, his hopes sinking slightly when the startled look on her face confirmed the idea that no one else had probably thought the implications through yet. However, Sirius suddenly slapped his own forehead and scrambled over to one of the counters, searching through one of the drawers.

"I almost forgot! Remus, don't worry, I've got exactly the thing we need right…here!" He finished triumphantly, holding a small piece of parchment that looked like it had been shoved into the drawer unceremoniously at one point. At the blank expressions he received, the Black heir explained. "This is a note Albus gave me in case we needed to let any new members into the house while Albus was busy; I'd totally forgotten about it since new members have been fairly scarce." When people still looked confused, he rolled his eyes. "It's a note describing this address _in Albus' handwriting_, and that means…" he trailed off expectantly, and Remus suddenly understood.

"…it's as good as the Secret-Keeper telling someone the secret in person! Sirius, that's perfect!" He smiled at how the Azkaban escapee's eyes lit up happily in a way they hadn't since he had moved back into his childhood home.

After that, things started moving much quicker in Remus' opinion. The two Weasley parents had volunteered to go get Luna themselves, and Ginny had insisted on going along too, because they were the most familiar with the odd girl and her father. When they came back within the hour, everyone had been introduced, and everything had been once again explained to the Ravenclaw—who Remus had to admit, took the story much better than anyone else had, though she still looked curious and excited about the situation—Molly insisted that they all eat a good lunch before they even opened the book, and commandeered the hands of most of the teenagers to help make sandwiches and set the table.

After they all finished, it was decided that the library had the most space, and they would all be more comfortable there than sitting at the kitchen table while reading. They all filed out of the basement and up to the main floor. When they were all settled comfortably on the various chairs and settees scattered in the spacious library, Minerva placed all seven books on one of the tables near the door, taking the smallest one on top as she made her way over to an armchair near the large fireplace. Sitting down, she opened the book and began.

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><p><strong>AN: One more note, to make up for my lack of one last chapter...do you think I should continue?<strong>


	3. When they start to read SS1

**AN: So, I got really excited that someone other than my sister actually showed up and checked out my stuff. Thanks guys! As a reward for my excitement, I've added this chapter as well, though if anyone cares, I'll warn you the updates are not going to be this fast from here on out, I had these three done before even putting this story up. So anyway...**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just a cool wizard's hat from Six Flags.

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><p>Minerva McGonagall cleared her throat to catch everyone's attention.<p>

"The title of this book is **Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**," she began, and flipping the book open, found the beginning of the first chapter. "Chapter One: **The Boy Who Lived**."

"**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense."**

"Aah," said Arthur suddenly. He turned slightly red though when everyone looked at him, realizing he had interrupted Minerva. "Sorry, but I just realized why they were acting so odd last summer when I had to pick up Harry for the World Cup. Carry on." He settled into the back of the settee, with his hands folded, as if to make up for the disturbance he had caused.

"Wait a minute!" Before Minerva could pick back up, however, Sirius chimed in, almost angrily. "So the story starts in Harry's fourth year? That's not fair, I wanted to hear about the years I _wasn't_ around for!" He shook his head disappointedly. Remus just shook his head slightly at his friend's dramatics, though secretly, he was also slightly disappointed about not getting to hear about Harry's first two years at Hogwarts.

"Oh please!" Ron groaned, looking exasperatedly at Sirius. "Harry's always hated his relatives; you really think they started acting weird about magic in fourth year? I wouldn't be surprised if they were like that even before Harry moved in!" He rolled his eyes at the raised eyebrows he was receiving from many of the adults, though Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny were all nodding along with him. Seeing that no one was convinced, he turned to Minerva and gestured at the book. "If you keep reading, professor, I'm sure you'll see what I mean. If this isn't about our first year, I'll eat my Cannons hat!"

"Watch what you say Ronnie-kins." One of the twins said, the other one nodding along. "We might just have to hold you to that, if only to get rid of that abomination Harry bought you!"

"Besides, Ron, how can you be so sure it's first year, what if it's Harry's second or third year?" Ginny asked. She figured that since Hermione wasn't arguing with him, there must be solid proof that no one had noticed, but for the life of her couldn't figure out what.

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it? The St-oof!" Ron was suddenly cut off by Hermione's elbow making contact with his ribs, and while he tried to get his breath back, she turned to the rest of the room, who were watching curiously.

"I'm sure you'll find out why we know, but just trust us on this, okay? Isn't that why we're here?" She said, looking pointedly back at the book. Seeing that they weren't going to explain any further, Minerva turned back to find her place on the page.

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache.**

**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences spying on the neighbors.**

Unfortunately for the Dursleys, the rather unflattering descriptions were met with a lot of affirmative nodding by those who had seen them, and abashed humor by those who hadn't, though the latter was mostly at the former's reactions.

No one seemed to notice, but Severus was also in agreement with Harry's description of his Aunt, though those unfamiliar with the dour man's sense of humor might not have interpreted the eye-roll and quiet muttering of "why am I not surprised" in that way.

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

Minerva interrupted herself this time, with a snort. "Well, only if he's changed drastically since the last time I saw him."

"When did you ever go to Privet Drive, Minerva? Albus told me it was unadvisable after he left Harry there, due to the possibility of surveillance from Death Eater factions." Remus explained hesitantly. He wasn't sure which answer would make him more upset; the idea that Albus had lied to him to keep him away from Harry, or the fact that even with the danger, Minerva might have been brave enough to risk it because she cared more about the boy than Remus must. He was therefore relieved when she answered him.

"Oh, no, no, Remus, I didn't go to visit Harry—Albus told me the same thing when I first asked—but I did do some…personal reconnaissance, shall we say, and I was not pleased with what I saw." She left it there, not willing to admit that the only reason she had shown any interest in Harry's Aunt and Uncle was a direct response to the night Voldemort had made his unfortunate attack, and hoping no one would push her for more details. Luckily, everyone seemed satisfied by that answer, and so she continued,

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.** **They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband **

Severus snorted quietly in agreement with this last statement while Sirius huffed in complete disagreement, both earning humored eye-rolls from those nearest them (Minerva at Severus, and Remus at Sirius).

**Were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"Well, really, how can they say that about the boy before they ever met him?" Molly burst out, startled at how deep-set the Dursley's aversion to Harry's magical heritage was.

"More importantly," Sirius added, with a very grave face that gave Remus a bad feeling, "When is this? The book is going on as if the Dursleys think Lily and James are still…._alive_." His voice had become strained and much quieter by the end of this statement, and he hesitated over the last word as if it pained him to even think about that time. The room became quiet as everyone stopped to think about that observation, and what it might mean.

Not liking the change in mood, Minerva decided to just continue reading, while also hoping that her slight bluff didn't end up getting called by the inanimate object in her hands.

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. **

**Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, **

Severus rolled his eyes, thinking that it was so typical of Petunia to go for the blandest personality in a husband. Considering Lily had chosen almost the completely opposite qualities to marry, however, he shouldn't have been surprised.

**And Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls. "Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house.**

The twins looked at each other, shocked, then blurted out simultaneously, "_Little_? Are we sure Harry didn't inherit his eyesight from his uncle?" Everyone chuckled, but then many of the students started laughing as Ginny reached over from her chair and smacked them both on the head.

"Idiots! He must have been little at some point. It's not like he was born the size of a…what did Harry say again...a killer whale." She shuddered at that idea, while Neville looked slightly sick at that suggestion, and the adults were all still chuckling at the twins' outrage over someone adding logic to the situation.

**He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.** **It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar.**

"You mean besides his own family?" Ron asked sarcastically, while Hermione tried to stifle her giggles.

**A cat reading a map.**

"Oh." Ron blushed, causing the rest of the teens to attempt to stifle their own chuckles.

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen - then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no, **_**looking**_** at the sign; cats couldn't read maps **_**or **_**signs.**

Minerva's voice here became slightly strained, as she tried not to give any indication that she recognized the cat _or_ the day, even though she was pretty sure of the identity of both. She must not have done a very good job, however, because while the teenagers and the elder Weasleys didn't seem to notice anything, Severus, Remus, and Sirius were all looking at her with narrowed eyes, and Minerva was sure that if Sirius had been a dog at the moment, he would have sniffed the hem of her robes suspiciously, trying to find what she was hiding.

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.** **But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.** **Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes - the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion.**

Neville was confused; he thought cloaks were something very traditional in wizarding families. In fact, his Grandmother always liked to brag about how her nicest cloak had been a wedding gift of her Grandmother's; she wore it only on very special occasions, and talked about how, whenever Neville ended up married, she would pass it on to her oldest granddaughter. Neville didn't like to think too much about that, though, since the whole idea was overwhelming. After all, he hadn't even taken his O.W.L.s yet! Instead, he turned towards Hermione to ask her about this Mr. Dursley's opinion when he noticed that the only other person looking confused was the strange Luna girl who had shown up after him. Not wanting to seem stupid in front of so many professors, adults, and classmates, Neville decided to just live without the answer and ask Hermione later in private.

**He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why; that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him!**

Luna cut in suddenly, sounding as if she was thinking out loud. "Green is actually quite a nice color for a cloak; I would enjoy wearing one like that."

Ron snorted. "How can you say something like that?" He asked while raising his eyebrows at the blonde, who continued staring vacantly at the cover of the book in Minerva's hands. "The only thing the color green reminds me of is the house of all the evil, slimy gits like Malfoy." Before Severus could come to a cutting defense of his house, however, Luna turned her bright eyes on the Gryffindor, with a faint frown line forming on her forehead.

"Actually, while it is true green has many negative connotations, it has also been used to represent acceptance, rebirth, and nature. It would only be fitting to wear it on the day of renewed peace for Wizards, and I'm sure many of the Slytherins embody these traits as well. It is probably very calming and quiet in their common room, allowing for some good studying." She smiled faintly again, as if contemplating how nice a quiet study area would be.

Ron opened his mouth to disagree, but was stopped by Hermione's hand gripping his shoulder. When he looked at her angrily, she hissed, "Nobody knows about the polyjuice! They're going to wonder how we know what the Slytherin common room looks like if you keep arguing." Conceding to her point with an annoyed shrug, Ron looked back at Luna grumpily, not liking the fact that it appeared as if he had lost an argument against someone not entirely sane.

**But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something…yes, that would be it. **

Sirius shook his head wonderingly; it was amazing how muggles rationalized things away sometimes.

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.** **Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **

"Well, I will give the man some credit," Bill said amusedly, "He is _very_ dedicated to his job, and seems to enjoy it as much as Dad here does." This statement received chuckles while Arthur sent his eldest son a mildly insulted look, not enjoying being compared to the unpleasant man he had met a year ago.

_**He **_**didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the streets did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime.**

"How do they get any post then? Do they have some other animals to deliver it?" Neville looked extremely confused by this point, never having been exposed to much muggle culture, and not having taken Muggle Studies, as his Gran thought that was one of the 'softer' subjects not worth the time or effort, since it wouldn't get someone very far career-wise.

"Actually, they employ other muggles to deliver the post, Neville, after it is all sorted by region. Each person has a set area to distribute the appropriate letters to, and to collect out-going letters from, and everyone has to pay the government for the service." Hermione attempted to explain quickly, without confusing anybody further. This didn't seem to work, even though Neville nodded slowly and while he gestured to his Transfiguration professor to continue, some could still hear him mumbling under his breath about "not very efficient for long distances."

Meanwhile the adults had all shared surprised glances with each other, all remembering of only one occasion that had caused such an obvious lack of regard for the statutes of secrecy. All, that is, except Minerva, who was becoming more and more worried the longer she read, and didn't think it would be easy to hide from all the observant people in the room.

**Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

At this, the twins looked at each other briefly, then caught Ron's eye, the latter of which grinned and said, "Are we really surprised at this point?" This just caused his identical older brothers to snort into their arms, rather than laugh out loud, as the adults were looking very solemn all of a sudden, though none of the students seemed to have realized the significance yet.

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin.**

"Sorry to burst your precious bubble there, Dursley" Sirius sneered, in an attempt to somehow release the tension slowly building in his mind and body.

**It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard -" **

"**- Yes, their son, Harry -"**

Sirius cringed visibly at this fairly solid confirmation of their theory. He felt a shaky hand descend on his shoulder and squeeze supportively, and he assumed Remus understood exactly what he was going through at the moment, and was reliving his own memories of those few days.

At the same time, it seemed the students had finally realized what was going on. Hermione's eyes had widened, and her hands were covering her mouth as she looked at the last two direct links Harry had with his parents. Bill's sudden stiff posture seemed to have tipped off Ginny, who was whispering quietly to Luna, presumably explaining why people were so affected. Neville's face had gone slightly pale, and he was shaking faintly, making Ron turn to him in concern. The shy boy waved off his dorm mate, however, since only half of it was something the other teen could understand. Yes, he felt sorry that Harry had had to go through that, and understood the significance of that day in the long run, but what was affecting him more was the fact that he realized this was only a short time before Bellatrix and her goons had gotten a hold of his own parents and stolen his own blissful childhood along with their sanity.

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. **

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking…no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name"**

Sirius sighed, unsure whether this stroke of logic in Vernon Dursley was cause for celebration or not. On the one hand, that meant he wasn't a completely hopeless guardian for Harry, but on the other, if he was smarter than he looked, what did that suggest about Harry's home life and the boy's aversion to his relatives?

**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure his nephew **_**was**_** called Harry.**

"That's despicable." Neville said quietly, still affected by his own reckonings of the past. However, as the atmosphere was still so subdued and quiet, it sounded oddly forceful echoing through the silence. When he realized this, his face flushed and he quickly elaborated. "I mean, I may not enjoy the company of all my relatives, but at least they all know my _name_, and correspond with Gran over the holidays."

**He'd never seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

Ginny scrunched her nose upon hearing this, but unfortunately for her, Ron noticed and started laughing.

"What's the matter, Ginny? You wouldn't have wanted to marry the great hero of the wizarding world if his name was Harold?" This caused the twins to snigger almost uncontrollably.

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if **_**he'd **_**had a sister like that… **

"Well, really!" Minerva huffed, getting quite fed up with the constant sniping at Harry's parents. "It's not like Lily ever pretended not to have a sister, and she certainly never hid her own heritage!"

**But all the same, the people in cloaks…**

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

"Okay, I take back what I said about his work ethic," Bill grinned again.

"Psshht! Bill, come on!" Fred scoffed at his older brother, a smile planted back on his face. "You can't tell me you're _so_ dedicated to your job…"

"…that you wouldn't have been even more distracted that day, what with all the useless frivolities going on." George finished off the thought with a distinctly Percy-like attitude, and his nose upturned ridiculously. Unfortunately, as this was true, all Bill could do was blush and shake his head at his brothers' antics.

"**Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**

**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

"And here I was thinking Ron lacked tact!" Ginny sniggered, avoiding the fist aimed at her shoulder from said brother, while Molly, Arthur, and the professors all shook their heads exasperatedly at the complete lack of trying to stay inconspicuous around muggles.

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

Hermione suddenly frowned, and turned to Minerva, "Umm, Professor, why exactly were wizards celebrating so obviously in muggle neighborhoods? Surely there are magical areas that can hold a lot of people or parties, right?" The older women looked up suddenly, as if never having thought about that before.

"Well Ms. Granger, of course there are places like that, Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and Diagon Alley being a few examples. Why?"

"Well, it just seemed kind of odd that so many witches and wizards were essentially loitering around a muggle office building for no other reason than to gossip. The owls I can understand, since they were heading between places, but the people standing in the street just don't make sense." At this, everyone looked surprised and puzzled, realizing Hermione had a very valid point. After a few minutes, it was clear that no one could come up with a reasonable answer, and so with silent agreement, Minerva continued reading.

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"Well, I guess that explains the boring tie and monotonous thoughts about drills, at least." Ginny said sarcastically, while pointedly ignoring the twins dramatic gasps and outraged faces upon hearing about Mr. Dursley's lack of imagination.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood - was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

Minerva was sure she could feel at least two pairs of questioning eyes on her, and a quick glance up told her it was Severus and Remus.

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

This time a very audible snort caused Minerva to look up, expecting either Remus or Sirius to have something to say. However, neither man was looking at her. When she followed their glances, she saw a smirking Severus looking at her with one eyebrow raised, apparently enjoying himself immensely.

"So that's where you were all day, Minerva? I had numerous students asking me for your whereabouts throughout the day, and I must say I'm surprised you decided to forgo your professorial duty in order to watch muggles." Having said this, Severus leaned back in his chair to watch the confusion unfold.

Indeed, it seemed like no one other than Remus had caught on fully as to why a cat would be behaving so _humanly_, and watching Sirius Black and most of the red headed menaces gape like a fish with a combination of shock and wonder on their faces was something Severus was enjoying quite a lot.

Before anyone could get their wits back enough to pester her with questions, however, Minerva shot a fairly harsh glare at Severus and quickly continued on with the story.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered.**

"Oh, yes, of course! I see cat's glaring at me all the time!" Sirius exclaimed dramatically, suddenly coming out of his surprised stupor.

**Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

"Well, at least we know who wears the pants in that family." Bill snorted, sliding a quick glance towards his parents which—luckily for him—went unnoticed by everyone except his siblings, who tried not to burst out laughing.

**Mrs. Dursley had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't").**

"I'm surprised it wasn't 'mine', the way Harry goes on about him," Hermione whispered to Ron, who smirked and nodded his head.

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normal.**

"_Tried_ being the operative word there," Ginny muttered under her breath. "I don't think that man has been normal a day in his life."

**When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

"**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping patterns."**

"I think they were talking to the wrong experts then," George whispered to his twin, causing both to snigger quietly in an attempt to not draw Minerva's attention from reading.

**The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**

"**Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early - it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**

Arthur huffed. "With all the commotion being broadcast on the muggle news, I'm surprised we didn't have to send out Obliviators to do more damage control."

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

"Well, Arthur, it seems like there should have been more damage control, if even someone like Vernon Dursley could figure it out." Molly said, a little disgruntled at the fact that this man continued to bad mouth the Potters, whom she had heard were some of the most gracious people ever in the Order.

"But Mrs. Weasley, you have to remember that Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were already aware, at least a little, about the Magical world, so it might have been easier to figure out." Hermione said reasonably, causing the older woman to nod grudgingly.

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good.**

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry you have to suffer through unsatisfactory tea!" George rolled his eyes, but was whacked over the head by his twin, who retorted,

"Really, Forge? Can't you tell he was talking about Petunia, not the tea?" Seeing what looked like the beginning of a fight (mockery or not), Minerva cleared her throat to interrupt the two and kept reading.

**He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously…**

"**Er - Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

"Vernon Dursley is one thing," Molly sighed sadly, "but hearing about Lily's own blood sister reacting like that at a mere question is so sad." She briefly pictured the face of her third-oldest son, Percy. For all she knew, that's exactly how he lived now, and she could commiserate with how Lily must have felt in the years leading up to her death.

"**No." she said sharply. "Why?"**

"**Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls…shooting stars…and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**

"_**So**_**?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

Severus raised an eyebrow at this. He knew for a fact that Petunia had not been a stupid child, so how could she not understand the implication that even her imbecile of a husband was putting together? Unless she did understand the insinuation of magical culture into the muggle world for a day, and was simply refusing to acknowledge it. That _would _be more to Petunia's behavioral tastes, if he remembered correctly.

"**Well, I just thought…maybe…it was something to do with…you know…**_**her**_** crowd" **

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dare tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. **

There were more stifled sniggers and surreptitious glances from all the Weasley children to their parents at this, though judging by Arthur's small sigh and slight smile, it was not totally unnoticed this time.

**Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son - he'd be about Dudley's age now wouldn't he?" **

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

"…but she doesn't know for sure?" Hermione had been quiet for some time now, but hearing this almost broke her heart. If the Dursley's didn't even care how old Harry was, how could they possibly do anything for her friend's birthdays or other milestones? This was especially important to Hermione, since she had grown up the only child of two highly devoted and loving parents, and she still had trouble imagining Harry living in a place where people were so blasé about his presence.

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't' it?"**

"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me"**

"This coming from the woman who named her son _Dudley_?" Sirius couldn't seem to contain his outburst any longer.

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree." **

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

"What were you waiting for, professor?" Neville asked tentatively, having decided the previous reactions were conclusive enough for him to believe the cat was indeed Minerva. "I thought you were simply watching Harry's relatives, and if they're all asleep…" He trailed off with a confused expression, but his question had caught the attention of others, who were also looking at Minerva for an explanation now. Instead she simply sighed.

"If my memory of that night serves me correctly, Mister Longbottom, you will find that out soon enough." And without any further ado, she turned back to the book, praying this chapter would end sooner rather than later.

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did…if it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

"Yeah, well, just imagine how Harry feels, you great lump." Ron mumbled under his breath, resigned to the fact that this was how Harry's stupid uncle would be acting for awhile, having met him on more than one occasion, after all.

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_**were**_** involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. **

"Well, of course, but you're not factoring in Harry's luck." Ginny said, for all appearances talking directly to the Vernon Dursley in the pages of the book. The adults refrained from saying anything about this, however, on account of the agreeing nods being shared by not only Harry's two closest friends, but the twins and even Neville as well.

**The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on - he yawned and turned over - it couldn't affect **_**them**_**…**

Bill cringed. He had never considered himself a superstitious person, but… "That's almost begging for something to happen to the Dursley family," He said. Especially—as Ginny had pointed out earlier—factoring in Harry's luck, or lack thereof.

**How very wrong he was.**

The eldest Weasley nodded to himself, though not happy that he had been proven right as everyone else, minus Minerva, groaned.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

"I always knew you had to have the patience of a saint, Minerva, especially after surviving us for seven years." Remus shook his head fondly while glancing at the cat Animagus, who nodded back at the werewolf with a smirk and simply continued to read.

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground.**

"What is he, a daisy?" Fred exclaimed to various eye rolls.

**The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

"It's alive!" George then yelled, not willing to be outdone by his twin.

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkled behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.**

**The man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"Well finally, we're getting to hear about someone other than a rude muggle!" Bill sighed in relief, while many others had suddenly sat up in their seats, since Dumbledore's presence probably meant that something relating to Harry was finally going to occur.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.**

Upon hearing this, Minerva snorted disbelievingly, and was joined by pretty much everyone in the room, minus Neville—who wasn't quite comfortable enough yet with everyone to blatantly laugh at the headmaster—and Luna, who was smiling slightly but seemed more content watching everyone rather than participating.

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

"That seems to imply that he was not expecting you, Minerva. Were you there for your own curiosity?" Arthur asked.

"Well, there are only so many places one can have an uninterrupted conversation with Albus, you know. I wanted to get as clear a story as I could, considering what a sad subject it involved. I was also sure that Albus would have to visit Lily's relatives at some point, though I did not know why exactly he was there that night until later." She answered, her eyes narrowing as she remembered her disapproval of Albus' solution for Harry's living situation.

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop.**

"Well, that's useful, though not something I've heard of before." Remus said, with his eyebrows raised.

"You think Dumbledore would let us have a look at it if we told him it was for research?" George asked his brother in an undertone.

**He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, **

The twins snorted, "Hah, we could come up with such a better name! Doesn't Dumbledore know it's all about the labeling?"

**Until the only lights left on the street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him.**

**If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street towards number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment, he spoke to it.**

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

"That just makes you sound like a bird, Professor." Ron said, somewhat obliviously. When he noticed the stern look said professor was sending him, his ears turned bright red and he hunched down in his seat, muttering, "Blimey, it was just an observation!"

"**How did you know it was me?" she asked**

"**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly." **

"**You'd be stiff too if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day." Said Professor McGonagall.**

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on the way here."**

"Wait…didn't Professor Dumbledore _apparate_ there? How could he have seen anyone, let alone multiple celebrations?" Ginny asked suddenly, bringing everyone to a halt while they thought about that. Clearly not coming up with any feasible explanation, Minerva simply coughed and kept reading.

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. **

"**Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be more careful, but no - even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursley's dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls…shooting stars…Well, they're not completely stupid.**

"What a high opinion you have of muggles, professor!" George said, raising one eyebrow in a respectable imitation of the potions professor, earning a glare from his Head of House.

**They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars in Kent -I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"Oh, Forge, it looks like her opinion doesn't merely include muggles, even some wizards are given such a high regard!" Fred blurted now, overly dramatic with a hand over his heart, and glancing up at the ceiling, not to be outdone by the glare sent to his brother, and he wasn't disappointed.

"**You can't blame them." Said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years." **

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are becoming downright careless, out on the street in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors." **

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't so she went on, "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really **_**has **_**gone, Dumbledore?"**

"Well, at least Professor McGonagall kept her own advice about not losing her head," Ron sniggered to Hermione, who merely shot him a sharp glance, having gotten very engrossed in the story, knowing that Harry would probably be showing up soon.

"**It certainly seems so," Said Dumbledore. ** "**We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"**A **_**what**_**?" **

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

Minerva shook her head, "if that man is simply 'fond of' those wretched sweets, then I'm the Minister of Magic."

Sirius smiled, shaking his head. "Don't sell yourself short, Professor, I'm sure you'd do a much better job than Fudge is at the moment." This got Luna to turn her eyes towards the `Transfiguration Professor now glaring at Sirius.

"Oh, are you going to be running, Professor? Don't worry, Daddy will definitely be on your side, I have it on good authority that he will soon be publishing a story about how Minister Fudge has a secret vendetta against the goblins, which won't help his image much at all."

Instead of answering the ridiculous question, Minerva gamely tried to read loud enough to be heard over the laughs coming from the teenagers' direction, and eventually everyone settled down again.

"**No thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_**has**_** gone -"**

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: **_**Voldemort."**_

Minerva was not the only one to flinch at this, though she had not hesitated before actually saying the name (she had known Albus would say it after all). Neville had almost jumped straight off the couch he was sharing with Luna and Ginny, both of whom had shivered slightly.

Remus and Sirius simply looked resigned to the fact that that would probably be happening often, with Harry's penchant to ignore the moniker taboo. Finally, Severus had not so much flinched as he had winced, almost as if hearing the name caused him pain, though he didn't think anyone had noticed, since he wasn't getting any odd stares, not even from the Marauder duo across the room.

Hermione had flinched as well though she had been preparing for this for most of the chapter, but before she could point out to anybody (namely, Ron, since he was sitting next to her) that they should have expected this, Minerva continued reading.

**Professor McGonagall flinched, **

**But Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name." **

"**I know you haven't" said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, **_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of."**

Having had very similar reactions once again when the name was mentioned, Hermione was getting aggravated, mostly because Ron had elbowed her every time he jerked at the sound of the name, and at this rate, her ribs weren't going to last through the first book. So, when Minerva paused to take a breath, she jumped in before the Professor could resume.

"This is ridiculous! Ron, you shouldn't even be flinching, Harry uses the name all the time! We're never going to get through even the first book if this happens every time the name is read out loud, and trust me, with Harry, it is said quite often." Seeing that no one could seem to come up with a response to this, and Ron was glaring at Hermione for calling him out, Minerva asked,

"Well then, what would you suggest, Ms Granger?"

Hermione flushed and looked down. "Oh, umm, I'm not sure, Professor, I was just trying to point out that flinching over a name like that will be pointless while reading these books, but I guess there really isn't anything we can do but get it over with quickly…" she trailed off weakly, glancing around. Seeing this, Remus decided to help the poor girl out.

"I agree with your theory, Hermione, but it's not really possible to just change a behavior so ingrained in a culture like this one is, but how about we all agree to work on it as the books go?" Here he turned to the rest of the group, and when all of them nodded, he turned to Minerva and gestured that she could continue.

"**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have"**

"**Only because you're too - well- **_**noble**_ **to use them" **

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked me new earmuffs."**

Hearing this set off the five youngest Weasleys into fits of giggles, while Hermione just shook her head in disbelief at their immaturity.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said. "The owls are nothing next to the **_**rumors**_** that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

Those few sentences effectively brought everyone back to the reality of what was coming and snuffed out the good mood as quick as Albus' Deluminator snuffed out light.

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

"When he's in that kind of mood, he's impossible to get anything out of." Severus grumbled, commiserating with Minerva's plight in the book.

"**What they're **_**saying**_**," she pressed on, "Is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter…"**

The hesitation in Minerva's voice was not for the benefit of the words on the page, but rather she was remembering the grief she had felt that night, and was doing her best to keep it at bay in order to get through the wretched chapter. As it turned out, she managed fairly well through the next half a page or so, with only a slight thickening of her voice betraying her emotions.

"**The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are - are - that they're – **_**dead."**_

It was Sirius and Remus that flinched visibly this time, though nobody really noticed because they all had their heads down, in a short period of silence out of respect for the late Potters.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

"**Lily and James…I can't believe it…I didn't want to believe it…Oh, Albus…" **

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know…I know…" he said heavily.**

By this time, Molly had teared up and was leaning against Arthur, who was shaking his head sadly and patting her on the shoulder. Sirius had his head in his hands, slumped forwards and not looking at anybody, with one of Remus' arms on his shoulder as the werewolf was staring at the ceiling, blinking much too rapidly to be natural. Severus was trying to be as stoic about the experience as Minerva was, and not surprisingly he was doing a better job, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded staring stonily at the wall facing him. Anybody who didn't know better would have thought he was angry about the scenario, but in reality he was grieving in his own way all over again for Lily. The teens and Bill were very quiet, out of respect, for even though they had never met the Potters, they knew the effect this one event had on not only Harry, but the rest of the Wizarding World as well.

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But - he couldn't. He couldn't kill the little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke - and that's why he's gone." **

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

"**It's - it's **_**true**_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done…all the people he's killed…he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding…of all the things to stop him…but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"**We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know"**

Ron couldn't help it. He snorted, and when Hermione turned to glare at him, he whispered, "You know it's true Hermione. Harry swears Dumbledore avoids his questions every year, and why would he do that if he wasn't hiding something?"

Unbeknownst to either teen, Severus was having very similar thoughts, since he had known Albus longer, and had been so central in giving the Headmaster information on the Dark Lord's activities during the actual war.

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge.**

Once again, Neville was left silently wondering why this was described as odd; His Great Uncle Algie had had to get replacements for his more than once, and Neville was under the impression they were fairly common.

**It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

Hermione suddenly sat up straight and frowned. Sitting right next to her, Ron was one of the only ones to notice. He nudged her with his elbow, raising his eyebrow at her when she turned to him. Instead of getting an answer, however, she just shook her head, telling him silently to wait. In answer, he just rolled his eyes.

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me **_**why**_** you're here, of all places?"**

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

Anyone who had heard or seen Harry talk or interact with his family frowned at this. And it was Sirius who burst out,

"If those people fall under Dumbledore's definition of 'family', then I think he's getting too old for any sort of position of authority!" At this, Severus rolled his eyes, just waiting for one of Albus' loyal followers to dig into the mutt. When no one else spoke, he looked around and found most people, including Molly, Minerva, and Remus, nodding their heads in agreement.

"**You don't mean - you **_**can't**_** mean the people who live **_**here**_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore - you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

"Exactly!" Sirius burst out once again, this time actually standing up and starting to pace. "And that's nothing on how Dursley was thinking about James and Lily!" He was clearly winding himself up quickly and thoroughly, and Remus knew that if they were ever going to get to the next chapter, Sirius was either going to have to get it out of his system or calm down. Since Sirius didn't look like his rant would be over anytime soon, Remus decided the latter course of action was called for. And so he stood up and got in his friend's way until the Animagus looked directly at him.

"Sirius…" Remus started, leaning in so he could talk without everyone else hearing, "I know you're angry with Albus at the moment, but the longer you pace around yelling your head off, the longer it will be before you can actually talk to him in person." Sirius started shaking his head vehemently, so Remus pulled out one last card to get his friend to sit down. "Besides, you interrupted Minerva, and if you think she's going to stay quiet for much longer while waiting on your temper, you've clearly spent too much time away from Hogwarts." He smirked, seeing his friends' eyes widen fractionally, then visibly pull his expression into something slightly calmer.

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

At this, Sirius visibly, and audibly, gritted his teeth but refrained from saying anything, as Remus had his bicep in a very strong grip.

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him!** **He'll be famous - a legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future -"**

"Oh I hope Harry never hears that that's a possibility…" Hermione muttered to Ron, who nodded in agreement, both imagining what kind of temper that would send their friend into.

"**There will be books written about Harry -"**

"No, that would never happen…" Fred said sarcastically, while George made very overly dramatic head shakes, causing the teens to snort and the adults to roll their eyes.

"**every child in our world will know his name!" **

"You make that sound like a good thing, Professor," Ron said, and Minerva had to admit he had a point; she knew that Harry didn't always appreciate the attention his name garnered.

"**Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk.** **Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

"Well…I guess I can agree with that point." Sirius conceded, reluctantly. But he wasn't ready to give up his frustration with the Headmaster yet, however. "That doesn't mean there weren't other muggle-centric options for Harry's home life!"

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes -yes, you're right, of course." **

"Even after a whole day watching Petunia, you still agree with Albus after he says one thing?" Remus raised his eyebrows, surprised at how quickly the fierce Head of Gryffindor had backed down.

"Some of us know when arguing won't help the situation, Mr. Lupin," Minerva said, staring stiffly at her former student. "I know you are familiar with how stubborn our dear Headmaster can get when he gets an idea in his head." Remus flushed, having experienced Albus' insistence before Harry's third year, when the older man had been trying to convince him to come teach. Seeing this, Minerva smiled slightly and continued, "I realized anything I said wouldn't do much but prolong our stay at Privet Drive, so why bother?" With that, she turned back and continued reading, hoping the chapter was finally coming to an end soon.

"**But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" she eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

Many of the teenage boys blanched at this, desperately hoping their professor's instincts were wrong.

"**Hagrid's bringing him."**

Upon hearing this, those that had blanched let out audible sighs of relief practically simultaneously, causing Ginny and Hermione to burst out laughing at them.

"**You think it - **_**wise**_** - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "But you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to - what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

Sirius smirked at this when Remus turned to him with raised eyebrows. "I thought you said no one was allowed to even breathe on your motorcycle, Sirius." He said, remembering how particular his friend was about one of his prized possessions.

"Well, as Minerva said, Hagrid can be slightly careless, so I figured it would be safer to send him on his way with my bike than have him try and apparate or something." Sirius frowned, "though had I known where he was bringing Harry, I might have put up more of a fight."

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild**_** - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"Aww, its baby Hawwy!" the twins crooned in sync, alleviating some of the tension still hanging around.

"Well, at least he's finally in the book," Ginny commented, rolling her eyes at her brothers' antics.

"Speaking of Harry…why isn't he here? If this really is about his life, shouldn't he be listening as well?" Neville asked, looking around the room curiously. He noticed that both Remus and Sirius' faces had stiffened slightly, while the other adults seemed to be exchanging glances, though none seemed willing to come out and answer his question. Turning to his classmates, he saw that both Ron and Hermione were looking fairly ashamed, and the other Weasleys wouldn't meet his eyes. He shared a confused glance with Luna, who had suddenly become more interested in the conversation than she had since the book began. It was Remus, predictably, who finally broke the silence, coughing slightly to get Neville's attention.

"As a matter of fact, Neville, Harry isn't here because Professor Dumbledore felt that it would be safer for him to remain at his aunt and uncle's, especially since there are special blood wards protecting him there."

"But, for something like this, don't you think the headmaster would make an exception?" Again, most people avoided Neville's eyes, though this time it was the two professors more than the teenagers that looked sheepish. And once more, Remus took on the role of explaining things.

"Professor Dumbledore doesn't exactly know what we are doing at the moment, in all honesty…we rather thought he would disapprove of the whole situation, and come to think of it, bringing Harry here would garner his attention more effectively than anything else we could do." Seeing that Remus and all the others didn't intend to elaborate more, Neville just shrugged.

"Alright, I guess…if you think that's best." He sat back in his seat, looking more apprehensive than curious about all the secrecy now, but clearly not willing to push any of the adults further for answers.

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir" said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me."**

"That makes it sound like Hagrid was planning on giving me the bike back, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of it," Sirius commented offhandedly, suddenly imagining the large half-giant trying to inconspicuously hide the large flying motorbike behind his back as he slunk into the shadows. He was brought out of his odd daydream by Remus, who muttered somewhat sadly,

"Well, you were a little preoccupied at the time trying to hunt down Peter, so how would you know?" This of course made Sirius feel guilty, and when he turned to his friend, the werewolf just shook his head, indicating that Minerva hadn't stopped reading, and they could talk later.

"**I've got him, sir." **

"**No problems, were there?"**

"**No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got him out right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

"Wait a minute…" Hermione suddenly murmured, looking oddly at the book, as if trying to piece together something. "Professor, how far away is Godric's Hollow from Privet Drive?"

Minerva looked up, surprised at such an odd question. "Well Miss Granger, I'm not totally sure…why?"

"Well, it can't be farther than Hogwarts is from London, correct?" Looking around the room, Hermione saw that many people weren't following her train of thought. "Think about it. If most of the wizarding world knew about You-Know-Who's defeat by the morning before this conversation, that must mean the actual attack happened the night before….a whole _day_ before Hagrid arrives on Privet Drive. And if Godric's Hollow is closer than Hogwarts to that area of England, and it takes the Hogwarts Express about half a day to travel the distance, it must have taken Hagrid even less time than that to get from Harry's house to his relative's house, right?" Seeing the nods from most people, Hermione continued with her train of thought.

"_So_, if the attack happened one whole day ago, but it took Hagrid less than half a day to travel by bike after getting Harry, and we can assume he used some other, quicker, method—probably apparition—to get to Godric's Hollow in the first place, that means Harry—a one-year-old child—was sitting in a mostly destroyed house with the bodies of his parents for at least the rest of the night, if not most of the next day while the wizarding world celebrated! Even Sirius seemed to have taken his sweet old time getting to Godric's Hollow, and you Professor McGonagall, spent most of the time on a brick wall, when it should have been clear by lunchtime that Hagrid was taking much too long on his mission if you really talked to him before eight-thirty that morning!" By the time she finished, Hermione had worked herself up into quite an angry state at how contradictory people seemed to be when it came to Harry's well-being. Ron and the rest of the teenagers, plus Bill, were looking at the girl in what seemed to be a mixture of awe (at her daring to call out her Head of House) and astonishment (at how she had noticed something no one else seemed to be paying attention to).

Indeed, most of the room was now looking quite shocked, and Molly's face was getting rather red. Severus had raised his eyebrows at this revelation, and was secretly impressed by how Hermione had deduced it all. After all, it wasn't everyday a fifteen-year-old student was able to make Minerva look so embarrassed and cowed. Merlin knew, it took Severus a lot more effort to get the Transfiguration Professor that disgruntled, and he'd been sniping with her for years.

Surprisingly, neither Sirius nor Remus started yelling, as many of the teens would have predicted, and were watching for. Rather, it looked like Sirius was just as shocked at this idea as Minerva was, and he and Remus were having a very intense and quiet conversation on their couch, ignoring the rest of the room.

Molly seemed to be getting her voice back by this point, and looked like she was about to start in on Minerva, but Arthur intervened before she—or anyone else—could start berating the thoroughly embarrassed woman. "Now's not the time to discuss this, Molly, especially not in front of the teenagers. Minerva," He turned somewhat stiffly to the woman holding the book, who seemed to be somewhat shell-shocked by the idea that she and everyone else had neglected poor Harry in return for celebrating. "How much more of this chapter is there left?"

Coming out of her stupor, Minerva looked down at the book, a little flustered, but managed to flip through the pages, while avoiding eye contact with most people. "Not much at all, Arthur, only a few pages left."

"Good, can we continue please?" Minerva nodded, and did as he asked, though the tension was still thick in the room.

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

"**Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

"**Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

"Not that it does him any good," Ron muttered to Hermione, who still looked upset over leaving a child in the house where his parents had been murdered. Hearing him, however, she turned, and her anger seemed to morph into sadness for her friend as she nodded miserably in agreement.

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

"**Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground."**

"Someone should probably warn Professor Dumbledore that the London Underground system is very prone to Bluffard infestations," Luna said suddenly. This effectively knocked everyone out of their anger at Dumbledore's timing with Harry's recovery, and rather made them all look blankly at the blonde girl sitting next to Ginny. Seeing this, Luna elaborated.

"Bluffards are rather strange creatures that live underground, and tend to give off a very bad smell. Unfortunately, since London has dug tunnels for the Underground in most places, their burrows have all been disturbed, and they make their homes underneath the trains, hence why it always smells so odd. It also makes them very hard to catch sight of, and hard to look for, when you can't do any magic near the Muggles. Daddy and I took a trip to London for just that purpose the summer before I started Hogwarts, but we weren't very lucky."

Not having any sort of coherent response to this, Minerva simply went back to reading, thankful the girl had gotten the attention momentarily taken off of the professor's past actions, or _in_actions, as the case may be.

**Well - give him here, Hagrid -we'd better get this over with." **

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned towards the Dursleys' house.**

"**Could I - could I say good-bye to him sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

"**Shhhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

"Because knocking on the door and handing them an orphaned child won't do that enough on its own." Ginny scoffed, a little disenchanted with the fact that her Head of House was not as perfect as the youngest Weasley had liked to believe.

"**S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead - an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles -" **

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door.**

**He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**

"What?" Molly burst out, once again glaring at Minerva. "You just _let_ Albus leave Harry on the doorstep in the middle of autumn, on a night that was supposed to be rainy?" Before the Weasley matriarch could continue, however, Minerva closed the book and slammed it on the table next to her seat. She had had enough with people getting angry at her, and her temper had finally gotten too much to ignore.

"Yes, Molly! Apparently, it wasn't enough that I was grieving over two of my former students—both from my own House, and both Head Boy and Head Girl in their final years—who I had just learned were murdered the night before and their child attacked and left for dead, but I was also responsible for the actions of Albus Dumbledore, who is my senior in every way possible, and it was merely on a whim that I decided against starting an argument in the middle of the night, in the middle of the muggle world, in the middle of a dark street! And furthermore, do you really think Albus or I would leave a defenseless child on a doorstep without any protection from the elements?" Here Minerva paused, taking in deep breaths to try and calm herself down as the rest of the room tried to recover from such a sound dressing down.

Poor Hermione looked like she was going to break out into tears, she was so ashamed of how she had basically accused her professor of neglecting Harry, and Molly didn't look much better, realizing that of course Minerva would not have acted as callously as they seemed to have thought she had. Seeing that she had gotten her temper reigned back in, and no one appeared to want to say anything to get her ire back up, Minerva picked the book back up and resolutely returned to reading, determined to finish this damn chapter one way or another.

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the sparkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be taking Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall -Professor Dumbledore, sir." **

**Wiping his streaming eyes on the jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

"**Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone. **

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley…. He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!"**

Minerva closed the book, glad to have finally finished, and looked around. Most of the teens looked like they were still in shock over her little outburst, which explained why the last few paragraphs hadn't had any interruptions. The adults, however, seemed to have recovered a little quicker, and surprisingly did not seem as upset with Minerva as they had been before. Unbeknownst to the head of Gryffindor, most of them had actually taken her words to heart, and could understand how in her emotional state she hadn't made a bigger deal out of Albus' questionable actions.

As such, when Ron's stomach growled loudly and Molly ushered all the teens back into the kitchen, to 'fetch a little bit of a snack', the rest of the Order members that were left didn't start in on her as she expected. Rather, an embarrassed silence settled over the group, and it was Arthur who finally broached the subject.

"Minerva, I apologize for our assumptions earlier…I don't think anyone blamed you for how you handled anything, it's just Hermione's observation took us all by surprise, and you were the only one from that night around for us to vent on." He sighed and shook his head. "By all rights, I think it is Albus who should be held accountable, as I agree that leaving a child on a stoop is not the best thing he could have done in that situation, though I can't see the Dursley's taking in Harry had he confronted them directly."

"Thank you, Arthur, but there's no need to apologize, I understand why you are upset; that chapter was just a little stressful on all of us, and Miss Granger's perceptiveness took us all a little off guard I think." Minerva smiled at the red haired patriarch, indicating that she harbored no ill will toward any of them.

By this point, the teens and Molly had filtered back in, some carrying various food items, and Ron holding a rather large sandwich. Upon seeing that the tension had apparently been diffused while they were gone, Hermione hesitantly spoke to Minerva from her seat. "Professor, if you don't mind, may I read the next chapter? It's just that, I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of muggle-related things coming up if this talks about Harry's home life, and it'll be easier for me to read through it all." Seeing Minerva nod in agreement, Hermione walked over and took the book back to her seat next to Ron. She found the right page, and began.


	4. when they read SS2

**AN: Well, hello again, friends! I'm glad so many people are enjoying my story so far, and I'm especially thankful to _Lorinhazuzu, Anniriel, and auerlia_ for being my first three reviewers :D I just hope I've lived up to your expectations with this next little bit. I warn you, though, it is a little bit of a bi-polar/emotional roller-coaster, but that's because I kinda write as I go, not with a definite plan in mind. There are probably some odd things that go on in this chapter that some of you may not agree with, but I'll be happy to answer any questions about where I'm heading with stuff, so pester away!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just a pair of very similar Harry glasses from when I was eleven...minus the tape.

* * *

><p>Hermione flipped to the second chapter and began.<p>

"Chapter Two:** The Vanishing Glass**."

Before she could even get into the story, however, she was interrupted by Ron laughing hysterically.

"Finally! Hermione, we'll get to hear the unedited version of this story! I knew it wasn't as simple as Harry said." He continue laughing, even after his friend tried to shut him up with an elbow to his stomach. The rest of the room just looked at them in confusion, since once again Harry's closest friends seemed to know something none of the others did.

"Do you two know what the title means, then?" Sirius asked, humored by their little display. Rather than answer, Hermione just started reading while Ron continued to chuckle.

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. **

"It's no wonder, if they don't believe in imagination." George commented, while Fred pretended to gag next to him. Most of the adults rolled their eyes at the interruption and Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose with a grimace. _At this rate_, she thought, _this chapter is going to take even longer than the last one_.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets — but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby,**

"If you say so." Ginny muttered to herself, thinking back on all the stories Harry had told them about his cousin.

**and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game**

"Hermione, what's…" Arthur began excitedly, but before he could form his first question, Hermione looked up at him and said,

"Umm, Mr. Weasley, I'd love to explain all of these to you but that might take awhile, so why don't I tell you during dinner tonight?" Seeing his agreeable nod, she turned back to find her place in the book.

**with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother.** **The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too."**

"How is that even possible? Surely there must be some sign of Harry somewhere other than his bedroom!" Molly exclaimed, completely unable to understand how a boy could live for ten years in a house without leaving any trace. Merlin knew, it was clear in every room of the Burrow that six boys had grown up there through the years.

"Trust me, mum, they manage it." Ron answered, having seen the evidence for himself last summer.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

Severus suppressed a wince at that. He knew when Petunia was younger her voice had always been hard on his ears, and he couldn't imagine age had helped any. That didn't mean he was going to come out and commiserate with the brat who survived, however.

"**Up! Get up! Now!"**

**Harry woke with a start.**

"No wonder he's always been the lightest sleeper in our dorm," Neville said to Ron. Ginny snorted.

"Neville, how would Ron know, he could sleep through rowdy dragons playing exploding snap." In agreement, the twins just started sniggering, and Bill had to suppress the urge to join them, since he was supposed to be an adult.

**His aunt rapped on the door again.**

"**Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove.**

"Wow, how small is their house if Harry can hear his aunt cooking all the way from his bedroom?" Remus had to ask, eyebrows raised. He would have thought, the way the Dursleys seemed to dote on their son, they would want to live in a 'respectably sized' house.

At that, Fred and George shared a confused look. Having gone through the house to fetch Harry's trunk twice—once before Harry's 2nd year and again before his 4th year— they knew the distance between Harry's room and the kitchen. "Maybe Harry has super hearing?" George whispered to Fred, noticing Ron also looked confused after Remus' interruption.

**He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"Aww," Sirius cooed. At the confused and somewhat sanity-questioning looks he was getting, he elaborated. "He was dreaming about his lovely godfather and said godfather's beautiful bike." Clearly not restoring his sanity in anyone's eyes, he gave up trying to explain with a disappointed shake of his head.

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

"**Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

"**Nearly," said Harry.**

"**Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn,**

"Hold on…Harry can _cook_?" This time it was Ron who interrupted, unable to understand how his friend could possibly cook food when he usually seemed so hesitant to even eat it regularly. Even Hermione looked surprised at this, however it was for a completely different reason.

"He was only ten! How can his aunt expect him to make breakfast?" This of course gave all the adults pause as seeds of discomfort and foreboding were planted in their minds about Harry's home life. None were willing to vocalize on this idea yet, though Remus and Sirius did share a strained, worried expression and Minerva had a very pinched look on her face as she pursed her lips.

**I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

**Harry groaned.**

This sentiment was shared by all the teens in the room (other than Luna, who now appeared to be curiously examining a cobweb up on the small chandelier in the ceiling), all of whose imaginations were at work thinking up the most ridiculous possibilities for what the Dursleys could have done for their spoiled brat of a son on his birthday.

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

"**Nothing, nothing…"**

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten?**

"Probably the same way he 'forgets' anything I try to teach him in my class." Severus sneered, ignoring the reproachful look sent by Minerva. In truth, he was feeling slightly uncomfortable with the way Petunia was acting towards the boy, having seen similar interactions between her and Lily. _But_, he rationalized to himself, _it was simply due to the fact that it was her son's birthday_, and thus an anomaly.

**Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed**

"And to think," Hermione had to add, mournfully, "Harry's the neatest one in your dorm. Don't give me that look Ron, I've been in there enough times to know exactly who's mess is who's."

"And what, exactly, do you mean you've been in their dorm room 'often enough', Miss Granger?" Minerva asked archly, raising an eyebrow in her bright student's direction. Hermione turned bright red at this, to the amusement of the Weasley boys, and muttered something under her breath that no one seemed to catch and turned back to the book.

**and, after pulling a spider** **off one of them, put them on.**

Ron winced slightly at that, but Ginny's grimace and muttering of "Boys!" caught the twin's attention, and Ron was relieved that they didn't try and mock him.

**Harry was used to spiders, **

"Yes, we know," Ron grumbled to Hermione now. He couldn't understand how, even after their experience in 2nd year, Harry was still not bothered in the least by those stupid creepy insects.

**because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

It took a second for what Hermione had just read to register in everyone's mind, but when it did, there was a stunned silence, and Hermione simply stared at the book in horror, until the least expected voice broke through the tense atmosphere.

"Do all muggle children sleep in cupboards, then?" Luna asked, looking sincerely curious. Unfortunately for the uninformed girl, nobody answered her, as the professors, Marauders, and students had all turned various shades of pale. All, that is, except the Weasleys, who predictably had started exhibiting a wide range of red faces. The silence after Luna's question hung in the air for a few minutes, but no one seemed close to coming out of their stupor, so having little other recourse for the situation, Hermione started reading again, though with a slight tremor in her voice now.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

Hermione paused here again, and looked around the room, her eyes landing almost pleadingly on Arthur, as if begging him to ask about the muggle items so they could move on from the horrible revelation. Unfortunately for her, the Weasley patriarch didn't seem to be paying attention, as his gaze was riveted somewhere off in the distance. The break in reading had, however, apparently given Sirius enough time to recover, for he suddenly sat up straight and looked at Minerva with a very grave expression.

"Albus didn't—_doesn't_—know about this, does he?" When all he got in response was a bewildered look, his face turned, if possible, even grimmer. "Because, Minerva, if he was aware of how they treat him, I will…" What Sirius would do to the headmaster, however, no one learned, because at that point Molly suddenly broke in. Rather than focus on the professors, though, she turned her still-red face and angry yet damp eyes on her three youngest sons, who cowered before she even started speaking.

"More importantly, did you three know about this? Why didn't you say something? Surely, if you were willing to steal a car in the middle of the night simply because you hadn't received a letter from your friend, something this, this…" Her voice broke at this point, and her damp eyes seemed to glitter even more with held back tears, but she soon collected herself and continued on in a steely voice. "I thought I raised you better, and I thought you, Ron, at least cared about your friendship more than to hide something as terrible as this from those that could help." By this time, a few tears had leaked out, and Molly could seem to do nothing more than shake her head disappointedly and slouch down in her seat, leaning against Arthur's shoulder.

"You think we _knew_ about this, Mum?" Ron suddenly burst out, the first in the room to channel his shock into anger rather than sorrow. "Does it _look_ like any of us knew about the bloody cupboard? For your information, Harry was sleeping in a bedroom when we went to get him, _and_ we DID tell you; about his relatives, about the bars, and the starving, but you just didn't listen!" By now, most of the adults were staring at Ron in shock, while the twins, Ginny, and Bill were looking almost awed at his standing up to Molly, and cursing to boot. Indeed, Ron had even physically stood up, gesticulating wildly at the book during his speech. It must have been unconscious on his part, though, because when Hermione hesitantly stood up as well and touched his shoulder, he jumped, looked around, and seemed surprised at his position in the middle of the room. The two students were interrupted, however, by another unlikely person.

"Mr. Weasley, you can't think we are stupid enough to believe you and Miss Granger didn't know about Potter's life with his relatives. Merlin! The boy can't even get through one class without you two sidekicks there to build up his ego or get him out of trouble. And don't get me started on those little secret conversations and plotting sessions I've seen you hold numerous times in the Great Hall." Severus pressed his lips together, hard enough to form a white line around them. It looked almost as if he hadn't meant to say anything at all, but like Ron, had forgone sympathy for Potter and headed straight for lashing out in anger. Rather than cow his students back into submission, this just sent Ron's temper to a higher pitch, as evidenced by the red flush making its way from where it started in his ears, down his neck and past his shirt collar.

"What do you know, Snape! As a matter of fact, Harry hardly says anything about his relatives at all, and just changes the subject whenever we ask about it. And it's not like you have ever encouraged him to speak up about anything, let alone his personal life, because Merlin forbid he appear anything other than the shallow show-off you want him to be!" Ron shook of Hermione's restraining arm, looked around the room and shook his head. "I've had enough, if you're not going to listen to me or anyone else, why bother even reading these damn things?" With that, he stormed out of the library, followed a few seconds later by a very distraught looking Hermione. By the sound of things, the two friends had gone up to one of the bedrooms—presumably Ron's.

This just left the rest of the occupants in the library looking either angrily at Severus (Ginny, Sirius, and the twins included), or exchanging confused and bewildered expressions with each other. Bill suddenly stood up uncertainly, looking around and asking, "should I go get them, or…?" it was Fred and George who answered, still looking a little ticked off, but willing to hold off on their outburst in light of attempting to diffuse the strained tension.

"Oh, don't worry Bill, they'll come back down soon, they're probably just having one of their 'old married couple' arguments," Fred said with a smile that looked more forced than natural.

"Yeah, don't worry," George continued, "In a few minutes, Hermione will have made Ron look like an idiot, he'll have admitted she's right to calm her down, and they'll both come back down looking all embarrassed for escaping to Ron's bedroom to be _alone_." His face then turned depressed, and he turned to his brother. "Though without Harry here to pretend to ignore it and then interrupt and make them both look the fools, who knows how long it'll take?" To which Fred nodded consolingly and patted his twin on the shoulder.

Of course, this cause anyone who had spent an extended amount of time around the trio (namely, any current Hogwarts student, plus the Weasleys) to chuckle weakly, since the boys were spot on about the trio's arguments, but were not willing to totally let the tension go. Before the atmosphere could turn truly serious again, however, the topics of the twins' musings re-entered the library, looking slightly calmer and, as predicted, sheepish and embarrassed. Ron was also holding his hand very gingerly, and Sirius understood this as soon as Hedwig soared in and landed on the couch back behind Harry's two friends. She didn't look any happier than she had the night before, and simply stared at all of them through her fluffed up feathers, indicating that she hadn't forgotten the decision to not give her any letters. Having ignored the twins' smug and knowing grins, as well as Hedwig's entry, Ron and Hermione returned to their couch and Hermione made to pick the book back up, but hesitated, unsure if anyone still had anything to say.

Not wanting to drag this chapter out as long as the previous one, everyone just looked at the girl expectantly, silently conveying the fact that she could continue.

"**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise"**

"Well, it's a mystery to us too, Harry, so don't go giving yourself a headache trying to figure it out." George interrupted, trying to inject some humor back into the atmosphere, though after a moment, it seemed to fall flat, and he gave up.

— **unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"Oh, here we go again…" Bill mumbled this time, noticing how a lot of people had already tensed in anticipation.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, **

Here Sirius groaned, not so much because he was surprised, but more because he had suspected it and wasn't happy about being right.

**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast**. **Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"Maybe that was true then, but what's his excuse now?" Neville said. He blushed once he realized he was receiving surprised stares, since he hadn't actually talked much in awhile, let alone made a joke. Then all of a sudden, the twins burst out laughing, reached over and pounded the poor boy of the back so hard he almost fell off his couch. Rather than interrupt the three Gryffindors, Hermione just smiled to herself and continued to read.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was.**

"No wonder he always wants to wear his school clothes to Hogsmeade," Ginny said, with a look of comprehension on her face. She had always wondered why Harry never seemed to wear any more casual clothes on the weekends like Hermione, who regularly introduced her dorm mates and Ginny to interesting muggle fashions.

"And here I thought he was just being polite when he came to the Burrow, no wonder he never seems to mind the…chaos." Arthur said under his breath to Molly, who was looking teary-eyed again but still nodded.

"That also explains why he was so embarrassed when I got him those new dress robes for the Yule Ball last year." She said, wondering how such a sweet boy could have survived living with the Durselys for so long.

**Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair,** **and bright green eyes.**

Sirius opened his mouth to comment on Harry's looks, but was interrupted by Ron, Hermione, and Neville saying in almost perfect synchronization, and very sarcastic voices:

"Just like his father, but he has his mother's eyes!" When they noticed the adults—especially Remus and Sirius—looking at them strangely, Hermione explained.

"No offense to anyone who knew the Potters, but Harry pretty much got sick of hearing that halfway through our first year, so now it's become somewhat of a joke to our year mates because of how flustered it makes him." Sirius and Remus still looked confused, but Hermione just continued, "It's probably explained somewhere in here better than I could, so why don't we keep reading?" The only response the two men gave were hesitant nods, which Hermione took as permission to continue.

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.**

It was Severus, of all people, who winced upon hearing this. While he may not like the boy, and still thought there was too much of James Potter in him to be anywhere near a good student, he knew how humiliating shabby clothes and being bullied could affect one's childhood. Idly, he wondered if Petunia ever thought of Severus' own horrible pre-Hogwarts outfits when she looked at Potter; he remembered her always seeming to have a very loud opinion on them back then.

**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

"Wait, what? He liked his scar?" Bill was the one to ask this time. Though he had only met Harry briefly during the World Cup, it had been clear by the number of times the boy played with his bangs how uncomfortable he was with his most recognizable attribute. He also supposed Harry had been more uncomfortable around Bill, never having met him before, and all the other Weasleys and Hermione seemed to ignore it completely.

Ron, of all people, looked the least surprised by this fact. He remembered how, the first time on the Hogwarts Express, Harry hadn't even hesitated in showing his scar to Ron to prove his identity. And while Ron could admit that he wasn't the most observant person in the world, he had realized how reluctant Harry had become to do the same over the years.

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

"**In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**

"She didn't…" Remus almost whispered, having gone a very pale color. Sirius wasn't looking much better; he had put his head back into his hands while staring vacantly at the floor, and wondering how everything had fallen so far, so quickly.

"**And don't ask questions."**

"That does explain quite a lot about his behavior in class," Minerva said, shaking her head sadly. She knew Harry was fairly bright, but it was always obvious when he didn't understand the theory or application, yet she had never seen him approach anyone other than Hermione for help, if that. Usually, Hermione was the one who approached him, from what she had seen.

**Don't ask questions — that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

At this, Fred, George, Ron, and Arthur (to most people's surprise) snorted disbelievingly. Once again, the experience from the previous summer had given them more of an insight into the Dursleys than anyone other than Harry himself.

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

"**Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

"I suppose that's a little better than Petunia's wake-up call, but still…he's just a boy, he doesn't deserve that sort of treatment." Molly said now, still watery-eyed, but holding herself together better than she had been before.

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way — all over the place.**

Seeing the depressed mood both Sirius and Remus were falling into, Hermione didn't have the heart to interrupt them this time when they shared a reminiscent glance and said, "James to a tee."

**Harry was frying eggs**

"I never….looking after something being cooked is one thing, but actually _making_ a ten year-old prepare food from scratch…" Molly looked scandalized. She knew if she had ever let any of her sons near the kitchen when they were that age, something would have ended up on the ceiling, or who knows where else.

**by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head.**

Hermione scrunched her nose, only having seem Harry's cousin once, and that from a distance. "Quite the looker, isn't he?" she said sarcastically to Ginny, who giggled.

**Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel — Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

Harry's description caused numerous outbursts of snorting, sniggering, laughing—and in the twin's case, oinking—to resound throughout the room, though Hedwig didn't seem very happy about this and made an indignant squawk in response.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents.**

"Well now we know where Harry learned how to prioritize the need to eat," Ron commented to Hermione. He was still having trouble understanding how his friend could forgo eating when even the littlest thing was distracting him.

**His face fell.**

"…OFF!" The twins yelled suddenly, making most people jump. Despite the glares they received in response from their mother, Hermione, and the two professors, they silently congratulated each other on breaking up the tension from learning about Harry's home life…at least temporarily.

"**Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."**

"**All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face.**

While no one commented on this, it was clear how Hermione felt, at least, since her voice had gotten more and more disgusted as she continued.

**Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

"It's sad that Harry thinks that's even a possibility at that age." Remus said to Sirius, shaking his head. "I don't think even James was that bad….and he was pretty bad." Sirius nodded in agreement, doing his best to not show how much each new revelation about Harry living with the Dursleys hit him like a physical blow to the gut. He didn't think he was doing a very good job, however, as Remus had yet to remove his hand from the convict's shoulder, and now gave it a gentle squeeze.

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"**

"She clearly has a natural bent for parenting, I see." Severus couldn't help but say, with an even fiercer sneer than usual, causing the two marauders to look at him curiously. The Slytherin usually reserved that facial expression for Sirius, and in school James, but to see him use it in reference to one of Harry's relatives was a little off-putting for them.

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…"**

"My God, he can't even count?" Hermione looked so scandalized Ron could do nothing but laugh at her, though he stopped quick enough when it looked like she would chuck the entire book at him, then set both on fire.

"**Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

"**Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

"**Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

"It seems like the good parenting gene is just running rampant in that family, isn't it?" Sirius now said sarcastically, wondering why he had ever thought Dursley would be a responsible guardian last chapter.

"Black, do you even know what a responsible guardian is supposed to look like? If I remember correctly, you spent most of Mr. Potter's years bemoaning your own existence, and since then all you've managed to do is bemoan the existence of this damn house." Severus sneered once again, though he was—like Sirius—simply looking for an outlet to remove the uncomfortable feelings of disenchantment and disgust this chapter was evoking in him. Before Sirius could reply, however, Remus cut in.

"Severus, please, this is neither the time nor the place to argue about this once again." When it looked like the Potions master would retort anyway, it was Minerva who put an arm on his shoulder. Glancing at her briefly, he quelled the urge to keep arguing with the mutt and the were-mutt and sat back in his chair with his arm folded.

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR.**

"Those all use plugs to make them work, yes?" Arthur said, having gained back some of his enthusiasm as Hermione read through the list of Dudley's presents. The girl in question looked up briefly at the older Weasley and smiled.

"Some of them do, yes, Mr. Weasley, but I can explain more about that too during dinner." Seeing Arthur's satisfied nod, she resumed reading.

**He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. **

"Vernon's been fired from his job for yelling to much!" George yelled, jumping up from his seat excitedly. Fred joined him a second later.

"Dudley's birthday has been canceled on account of no one liking him!" Then, to everyone's amazement, Ginny piped in.

"Petunia's been informed that child labor is against the law, and Harry must now be spoiled rotten!" Ron, Hermione, and Neville were laughing too hard to add their own thoughts, while the two marauders were looking wistfully off into the distance, and Bill and Arthur were attempting to stifle their own laughs in the face of Molly's disapproving looks. The two Hogwarts professors weren't joining in with the ruckus, but Minerva had a slightly tolerating smile on, and Severus was trying to ignore the fact that a still-angry Hedwig had decided the back of his chair was the best place to stay for the time being. Everyone was brought out of their own musings however, when the last occupant finally voiced her question.

"Wouldn't Harry find those things good news?" Luna asked, looking around the room with her wide eyes. This just set the Weasley boys off again and if possible, their laughter was even louder than before. Ginny, however, took pity on the confused Ravenclaw and explained in an undertone why exactly good news for Harry wasn't necessarily good news for the Dursleys. Soon enough, though, everyone had calmed down enough to let Hermione continue.

**"Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him."**

**She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

Remus frowned, turning to Minerva. "Arabella was living on Privet Drive before Albus reconvened the Order?" Seeing that he was just as unsure as he was, he continued, "Do you think she was in any position to tell Albus about anything? Do you even think Albus knew that's where she lived?" As each successive question came to his mind, Remus became more and more uncomfortable with the idea that Albus might have possibly known about Harry's living conditions. He wasn't the only one who seemed to share these misgivings, as Arthur, Sirius, and Minerva all looked just as disconcerted as he felt, though none seemed to know the answers.

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there.**

Sirius was doing his best to not let his guilt overwhelm him, and so with a huge amount of effort, he forced himself to speak. "Now, Harry, don't you know that the crazy, old people are the best because you can get away with pretty much anything?" He was heartened by the fact that the teens seemed to find this funny, and even Minerva revealed a thin smile at this.

"And you would have experience with this occurrence, Mr. Black?" She asked as she raised one eyebrow inquiringly.

"Ah, ah, ah, Minerva! A troublemaker never reveals his secrets." He responded with a wink, feeling some of the tension leak out of him. He had been worried that others would blame him for abandoning Harry—as he saw it—to that life.

**The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

"Does she even know the kid she's watching is THE Harry Potter?" Bill asked. Even though he had only been a member of the Order of the Phoenix for a few months, he knew Arabella Figg was not only a returning member, but also a squib, and therefore had to know about Harry's history, whether she was placed there by Dumbledore or not.

"Harry once told me that if the Dursleys had thought he would enjoy something, they'd have rather kept him as far away from whatever it was as possible." Ron said, realizing now just what Harry had meant, and how it had extended even farther than simply buying him treats as he had originally thought.

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

Molly shook her head at how insensitive Harry was being, but Arthur seemed to read her mind and patted her arm, saying "Now, Molly, remember, the boy is only ten at the moment. How many ten year olds have you met that would have a long enough attention span and patience enough to sit through that on a regular basis?" Seeing that he had made his point, he added one last thought before Hermione started up again. "Besides, considering his age, I think Harry should get some credit for trying to feel sympathy when all he ever associates Arabella with are less than exciting memories."

"**We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

"**Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"Obviously she must," Ginny muttered, getting frustrated with Harry's relatives, "that appears to be one of the requirements to belong to the Dursley family."

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

"Sounds a lot like how Snape acts," muttered Ron to Hermione's reproachful, yet agreeing nod.

"Uh-oh, Fred, Harry's aunt and uncle have started confusing Harry and his cousin…we better make sure it's actually Harry they try to send off to Hogwarts this year." George said 'worriedly' to his brother, who nodded solemnly in agreement.

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?"**

"I thought their whole objective was to keep Harry away from 'normal' folk…how does handing him off to one of Petunia's friends accomplish that?" Hermione asked rhetorically, not even looking up from the book, and continued reading immediately after.

"**On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

Seeing as the tension has slowly been lifting as they read on, Fred and George shared a surreptitious glance, and decided to risk their mother's wrath in the name of humor.

"Now Petunia, dear, there's no need for such hostility," George began, in a falsetto, hoity-toity voice, while Fred finished off the thought with fluttering, dismissive hand gestures.

"…it's not Vernon's fault he can't remember your friend's name, let alone such a small thing as when she's takes her vacations." This of course got the teens to snort into their arms, and Hermione to roll her eyes exasperatedly at their never-ending antics.

"**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

"Let's hope she choked on it, then." Ron muttered, which simply got him a blank stare from Hermione. "Never mind," he grumbled, slouching down in his seat.

"**And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

"**I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

'Come on, Harry, blowing up a house? How amateur, can't you think of something with a little more…_oomph_?" Remus looked strangely at Sirius after hearing this, a little worried that the man had seemed to repress his anger and guilt so far down that he was talking to a book. He resolved to have a talk with him privately during the next break the group took, which would probably be the end of the chapter, if it was going to take as long as the last one did.

"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "… and leave him in the car…"**

Minerva sat up so suddenly Severus turned to look at her with an inquiring look. What he found was a very angry Gryffindor Head of House, who looked ready to interrupt. The motion seemed to have caught Hermione's eye as well, but rather than pausing to let Minerva speak, she simply held up a hand.

"Professor, wait, there's more…"

"**That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…"**

She looked up again at her professor inquiringly, indicating that she had finished the section and wouldn't interrupt her again.

"She's treating Harry like some sort of, of…house pet, or servant! He's not a dog, you know!" Having said her piece, she leaned back in her chair in a huff. While it was true she hadn't said much during the chapter, her anger from the previous argument about Albus had lingered, and mixing that with the treatment her student was receiving, it had simmered under the surface until she either had to speak out or curse something.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"**Dinky Duddydums,**

"Anyone would cry if they were called names like that…" Neville trailed off quietly, having endured some of his own terrible nicknames, courtesy of his quite eclectic aunts and uncles.

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

"**I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

"Are we _absolutely sure_ Harry's cousin is older than Harry? Or are the Dursley's delusions about Dudley's age contagious?" Ginny grimaced. Every new thing they learned about Harry's cousin made her happier and happier she had never had the chance to meet him in person.

**Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother.** **Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat.**

"Remus, do you know if Peter had any non-magical relatives in his family tree?" Sirius said quietly, trying everything he could think of to not fall back into the sad guilty depression he had managed to suppress for now. Remus just looked askance at the Animagus, clearly seeing the silent struggle his friend was going through. Without any other recourse, he decided to play along, and see where Sirius' mood ended up.

"I don't think so, Sirius, though if you really want me to go slog through the endless family records in the depths of the Ministry of Magic, just for the answer to your oh-so-important question, I can leave now, and we can hold off on reading until I come back…" He smirked at the minor look of panic on the convict's face. He had figured Sirius' curiosity about his godson was stronger than the urge to somehow find a roundabout way to get revenge not only on Peter, but on the Dursleys as well.

**He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them.**

"What a sterling recommendation, don't you think Fred?" George asked his twin.

"Of course, George! He must have been educated at the same highly acclaimed school for sidekicks Crabbe and Goyle attended." They sniggered, seeing the offended look Severus was giving them, though the Head of Slytherin had to admit that the tactics those two boys used were less-than-subtle, and definitely not very refined, like Slytherins were usually known for.

**Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

Rather than re-hash all the intelligence-insulting opinions already shared, most people simply rolled their eyes or sighed loudly at how predictable the rude boy was becoming. Of course, it was Luna who gave them all a new perspective on the situation.

"That's a very unique talent Harry's cousin has, being able to cry on demand. Do you think he will want to go into acting when he gets out of school?" Trying to imagine Dudley acting on a stage left most people with either disgusted looks or in fits of laughter, but it was Remus who got himself together enough to answer the blonde girl.

"No, Luna, I don't think Dudley Dursley has ever considered that career path."

"What a shame, I'm sure he would have done a fairly good job." She shook her head sadly, then looked politely at Hermione, waiting for her to pick the story back up where they had paused.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley,**

"Poor Harry's deluded if he thinks sitting with those two boys in an enclosed space is lucky," Hermione muttered to Ron, who just shivered in sympathy for his best friend's plight.

**on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. **

Severus once again had to repress the urge to wince as he heard this. While it was true his young life hadn't been all that glamorous before he befriended Lily, at least his mother had usually been in a good enough state to occasionally take him out, even if he had eventually realized it was just an excuse for his mother to get away from his father's anger for a few hours.

**His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy — any funny business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

"He didn't just do what I think he did….did he?" Sirius said, his eyes narrowing, suddenly moving from grieving friend to protective godfather mode almost instantaneously.

"It's probably not what it sounds like, Sirius…" Remus tried to calm his friends down, but even he had to admit, with what they had heard so far, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for the Dursleys to make good on that threat.

"Well, he's only threatened to lock him up, but he hasn't actually _done_ anything to Harry yet, so there's not much we can do." Minerva said, looking at her ex-pupils, praying that it would stay at the threat level, but almost wishing it wouldn't, just to see what Sirius would do when he met up with the Dursleys. Not that she would tell anyone about how much she would enjoy watching that.

"**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…"**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.**

"Does anyone ever seem to believe Harry outright?" Neville asked rhetorically, shooting a furtive look at Ron—remembering what had happened at the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament—and avoiding what he knew would probably be an angry frown from Severus.

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

"Well, Harry is always going on about how trouble comes looking for him, rather than the other way around." Hermione said. "But, if this is similar accidental magic to what I experienced, the Dursley's treatment probably caused a lot of the funny stuff they were trying to avoid in the first place." She shook her head, remembering various incidents when she was young.

She especially remembered times from school, like when kids had been bothering her about reading in the library during break and a stack of books had toppled on them, or when she had been getting trying to avoid getting teased on the playground and found herself in the middle of a giant bush on the edge of the property; the perfect place to read in peace, where no one had been able to find her until she came out. Then there was the time she had been so nervous during a verbal spelling quiz that when her turn came around, she had opened her mouth, and no sound had come out. Getting a nudge from Ron pulled her out of her memories, however, and she blushed slightly before continuing.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

"And here I was thinking Malfoy was the worst we've ever had to deal with," Ron mumbled to Hermione, understanding now why Harry never seemed to get ruffled by the insults Malfoy threw at him.

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, **

"A whole week?" Molly exclaimed. She knew sometimes she could be harsh, but what Petunia did was pushing the limit, even in her opinion.

**Even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

"It's never a good sign when you try using logic on an angry guardian," Fred said knowingly. George nodded.

"Especially when said guardian is in straight-up denial about the existence and use of what is clearly magic to defy said logic."

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls).**

"Gives you a whole new appreciation for maroon now, doesn't it Ron," Ginny sniggered as her older brother shuddered in horror at Harry's clothing situation.

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry.** **Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

"Well, I guess there's an upside to everything, even denial." Bill said, shaking his head at how far Petunia seemed willing to go to not acknowledge the truth in front of her eyes.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**

"Where was that ability every time he's decided to go and fall off his broom during Quidditch?" Minerva of all people said. She had lost count of the number of times that boy alone had almost given her a heart attack from what should have been a simple sports competition.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) **

"Locked? They _locked_ him in there? What if there was some sort of emergency? Can he even open the door from inside?" Hermione's voice was getting shriller and shriller, until finally Ron couldn't bear to let his ears suffer anymore and loudly interrupted his friend.

"Hermione! We get it! But clearly Harry made it through alive, since he was on the train that year, so please stop yelling in my ear!" Having gotten her attention, he nodded towards the book pointedly, and she blushed, finding her place again.

**Was jump behind the big trashcans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

Even Remus had to shake his head sadly at that. The marauder had thought he'd heard the worst excuses possible, having spent seven years getting caught with James and Sirius, but clearly it wasn't just James' looks Harry had inherited. The twins also looked disappointed in Harry, but Bill leaned over and patted George on the shoulder consolingly.

"Don't worry, guys. At least it looks like Harry gave up trying to use any sort of logic."

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong.**

"That's the spirit. Professor Trelawney uses that technique all the time to demonstrate how powerful the mind is when it comes to fate." Luna said serenely. Hermione looked up, surprised. She hadn't thought anyone else noticed the little mental tricks Trelawney played on her students—like with Neville and the broken tea cup. She considered the Ravenclaw, thinking that she might see what else the girl thought.

**It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

"They practically have him on a leash," Neville shuddered. While his Gran could be overbearing sometimes and liked to push her weight around, at least she let him have a little bit of freedom, compared to what Harry was given.

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

Severus was slightly disgusted hearing this. It was eerily similar to his running mental list of complaints he would love to tell Albus, which consisted of: foolish colleagues, Potter, the Ministry, Potter, dunderheaded students, and Potter. He didn't like to think he was in any way similar to the brat's uncle, especially since there were eerie parallels between this Dursley and his own poor excuse for a father. And if there was anything Severus was more set against, it was becoming anything even slightly resembling barely tolerable man he had grown up with.

**This morning, it was motorcycles.** "…**roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

Ron smacked his forehead. "Not the time for one of your epiphanies, mate." He groaned, to the general amusement-cum-commiseration of the younger generation.

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"That, my good sir, is where you are wrong." Fred said, with a sidelong glance at his twin, who smirked.

"You wouldn't believe the kind of things that can fly. I mean, I once saw a horse fly,"

"…a fruit fly…"

"…even a house fly…"

"…a toad fly…" Ron put in, thinking back on their first Charms lesson, and making Neville almost choke from laughter.

"Alright, that's enough boys." Arthur said, repressing his own chuckles as best he could. Unfortunately, Hermione seemed to find their joke funnier than everyone else (unbeknownst to the rest of the group, she was remembering a silly cartoon movie she saw once about a flying elephant), and was therefore unable to continue reading at the moment. Eventually her giggles subsided, though, and once she had herself back in control, she picked up where she had left off.

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

"**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

"Well to Dursley, I bet dreaming is essentially the same thing as having an imagination, which he doesn't believe in, so, no dice with that one, Harry." Sirius muttered to Remus, who just shook his head sadly. Though it did explain to the werewolf why Harry always had had trouble initially with his Dementor-Boggart; imagination and creativity were essential to making fears humorous, as well as needing to imagine happy moments in order to produce an effective patronus.

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

"Clearly, Mr. Potter didn't need any help in the 'dangerous ideas' category in the first place." Minerva muttered, thinking back on all the times Harry had recounted exactly why he had come up with a plan that always seemed to have impossible odds against him and his cohorts.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

"That explains why his eyes practically popped out of his head during our first Welcoming Feast," Ron said, turning from Hermione to Neville; both of whom were nodding in agreement, though not amusement.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, **

Hermione now gave an almost sad sigh, and after receiving questioning looks, she said, "I was just wondering where and how Harry lost such an optimistic point of view." She said, but wouldn't elaborate further, though Ron nodded, understanding what she was talking about.

**Licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**

George's eyes lit up at that, with a mischievous light, giving most of the adults in the room a very uneasy feeling. Their fears were not assuaged at all when he turned to his brother and said.

"You know, Gred, I think Harry might have gotten it wrong. What if it's not the gorilla who's hair was the wrong color…"

"…But in fact, the problem centers around Dudley needing the 'color correction'. Forge, you may be onto something here…" Fred's eyes matching that of his twin's, they stared at each other silently, then nodded their heads simultaneously and turned back to the group, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Molly sent them a warning glare they both seemed to ignore, but she didn't say anything. She was sure they couldn't possibly do anything to Harry's cousin when she'd discarded all of their silly trinkets, and they were all confined to Grimmauld Place for the time being.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him.**

Bill raised his eyebrows. "Either Harry has a lot of experience with those boys, or he's really adept at reading body language, because that is some pretty smart foresight there."

"Unfortunately, Bill, I think it's a combination of both." Ginny said, frowning. She could see know why it appeared that every time someone was angry near Harry he seemed more nervous, whether that anger was directed at him or not.

**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

Hermione grimaced reflexively. While she enjoyed treats and dessert as much as the next kid, she HAD grown up with two dentists for parents, and thinking about how the majority of Harry's meals that day revolved around sugar made her cringe.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"Whew!" Ron pretended to wipe sweat off his brow as he smiled at Hermione. "There you go Hermione, Harry's good old pessimism is back and all is right with the world." She laughed slightly, nodding, though the rest of the room couldn't seem to figure out why being pessimistic was something to celebrate.

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone.**

Ginny shuddered; all the talk of slithering and snakes had brought her back to the image she had seen once she regained consciousness in the Chamber of Secrets: A giant, dead Basilisk and Harry covered in blood.

**Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can — but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

Now it was Severus who felt a shiver crawling up his spine. Potter's description had reminded him greatly of Nagini, the Dark Lord's familiar, and he wished he only ever saw her when she was sleeping, but alas, had not had any luck in that department.

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

"**Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

"**Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

"They just have a way with animals, don't they?" Sirius couldn't help but ask, smirking at Remus. The werewolf simply rolled his eyes at his old friend; he and James had always enjoyed poking fun at Remus' fascination with magical creatures, and he couldn't wait to hear what Sirius would have to say about the way he taught Harry's third year Defense class.

"**This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

It was Remus' turn now to smirk, poking Sirius in the side as he said, "It's a general rule that the larger the animal, the lazier they are, right Sirius?" As either a dog or a human, Sirius had always been the one who would rather lie around outside in the sun, and the other marauders had often joked that he should have turned into a lizard so he could simply sun himself on a rock all day. Being a mature adult, Sirius simply poked Remus back, rolling his own eyes.

Unnoticed by both men, Minerva had been watching them converse, and was glad to see that they appeared to be pulling each other out of the anxious, depressed mood that had started to take hold of both men as the summer progressed.

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"I think it boils down to the quality of care offered, rather than the quantity of space given, in his case." Arthur said sadly. Minerva nodded in agreement, having seen for herself how even the smallest amount of positive encouragement or simple interaction changed Harry's attitude and energy almost visibly. Of course, this train of thought brought her to her student's interactions with the potions master sitting next to her, acting aloof of everything going on, and she sent a frown his way, though he didn't make any sign that he had noticed or even cared.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

Hearing this, and remembering the title of the chapter, Ron sat forward eagerly, trying to send Hermione a mental message to read faster.

**It winked.**

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

"Because _clearly_ that's how any sane person would react in that situation, not panic, not confusion, just total acceptance and engagement." Hermione said, her voice thick with sarcasm and a little bit of amusement.

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

"**I get that all the time."**

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him.**

This time it was Ginny who snorted. "And of course, Harry's more worried and unsure about the snake hearing him, rather than the basic question of whether the snake even _understands_ him."

**"It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

"**Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

Molly shook her head in bemusement. "Well, at least he knows how to be polite and mind his manners." This of course made her receive various looks ranging from confused to outright shock and concern for her own sanity.

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

"**Was it nice there?"**

"Are you looking for recommendations on where to vacation, Harry?" Fred asked, sniggering.

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?"**

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

"And Potter's complete lack of subtlety and attention to discretion strikes again," Severus sneered. Clearly this whole situation could have been avoided if Potter had simply been more aware of his surroundings and less caught up in his own private world where even snakes compete for his precious attention.

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

"Probably wasn't very fast at all, considering," George mumbled, a little put out that Harry's 'conversation' with the snake had been so rudely interrupted, and reminded the room about who exactly Harry was with at the zoo.

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor.**

Neville winced; being clumsy, he was quite familiar with how unpleasant falling on hard surfaces could be. The Weasley teens were all gritting their teeth, and had anyone bothered to look at them rather than focus on what Hermione was reading, they would have seen four extraordinarily similar expressions on that side of the room.

**What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**

In a falsely cheerful voices, with more than a touch of anticipation laced through them, the twins both said, "Well, that's promising!" And they sat forward in imitation to Ron's expectant pose.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

"Now that's what I call _oomph_!" Sirius said amusedly, just imagining the faces on the Dursleys when that happened, while the twins whooped appreciatively and Ron said to Hermione,

"I told you this would be better than the way Harry explained it," through his own laughter. For their own part, Remus, Minerva, and Severus were all sharing impressed (Severus very reluctantly) and slightly surprised looks at not only the difficulty of the spell involved, but apparently the size of the glass that had been vanished. Hermione noticed their looks, however, and directed their attention to her.

"Is there something wrong, professors?"

"It is simply surprising to see that sort of precision and skill in accidental magic, Miss Granger, especially from a child who doesn't seem to have much control over his magic in the first place, and who has only shown that sort of capability inconsistently as a student." Remus, Severus, and even Molly, Arthur, and Bill were all nodding along with this explanation, the three Weasleys having had plenty of experience with the more…unusual types of accidental magic from raising so many kids, including the ever creative twins. To everyone's surprise, including Ron's, Hermione burst out laughing at this, hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. When she had calmed down enough to speak, she noticed the blank stares and blushed slightly, but explained.

"Sorry, but it's just, Harry once told me after helping him out with a spell that, next time he needs to learn something, just to threaten him with a dragon." Still receiving confused looks, she shook her head. "Never mind, I'm sure it will come up eventually." And with that, went back to reading.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

Remus shook his head. Loud noises and quick movements were the two worst things to do around wild animals, because it simply made them more stressed and likely to attack. He didn't really want Sirius to start teasing him again, though, so he kept that observation to himself, though from the sidelong glance the Animagus was sending him, he thought his friend might suspect what he was thinking.

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo."**

"I hope the snake was able to make it home," Luna said thoughtfully, "he seemed awfully happy that Harry helped him out." Since this was undeniably true, and once again no one knew how to respond to such an observation, Hermione simply shrugged awkwardly and resumed reading.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

"**But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

"That poor man," Arthur murmured, "he's completely innocent in this whole situation, and yet he's ultimately the one responsible in the muggle world." He had always thought it was sad the way the Ministry usually seemed to sweep any collateral damage in the muggle world under the rug, and in such a public place, with such a dramatic display, someone in some department should have been aware of the magic Harry preformed, though clearly nothing was done.

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber.**

Ron made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a laugh at this, which made those around him look at him weirdly.

"Sorry, but I don't know whether to be disgusted or amused that those two bullies act exactly like Malfoy and his shadows." The teens all thought about that for awhile, and Ginny, Neville, and Hermione seemed to feel more disgust while, predictably, the twins found the amusement in all of this, and turned to Ron with bright eyes.

"So, Ron, do you think if a snake somehow ended up in their common room, we would see a similar reaction?" Before their brother could answer however, two voices cut in simultaneously.

"If you even think about trying that, you can forget about ever having a free weekend again, Weasleys!"

"Boys, you cannot expect me to ignore blatant planning against a fellow student who has done nothing to your persons! If I even hear a whisper about a snake when school begins, you'll be sorry." Minerva and Severus both had very serious faces, though Severus looked more outraged by far, while Minerva seemed more disappointed by the boys' attitudes towards fellow students. Fortunately—for the twins' sakes—this seemed to be the end of their 'lecture', as Arthur had prevented Molly from saying anything with a firm grip on her arm, and whispering in her ear.

"Molly, I think Minerva and Severus can handle this. Besides, this is a school issue, not a home issue, and we don't want to step on anyone's toes." He said meaningfully. In response, Molly heaved a big sigh and sat back in her seat, though her crossed arms indicated to everyone how she was still itching to lay into her sons. The mood having shifted from jovial to tense in a matter of minutes, Hermione quickly read on, hoping that learning more would smooth over the disagreement.

**As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

"Well that's just because Potter has all the subtlety of peeves at his worst." Severus said sarcastically, though he reckoned he might be losing his touch, since people merely rolled their eyes at him this time.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry.**

Everyone in the room sat up quickly, and it was Sirius who spoke first, though it seemed like he was working hard not to growl.

"Starting _what_, exactly?" Suddenly, most of the teens could understand why people had thought Sirius had been a mass-murderer, and they were all glad that they were not on his bad side.

**He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

"I don't know if I should be relieved that he didn't seem to do anything to Harry, or the fact that he resorts to drinking when he's angry." Arthur said, with a much more severe expression on his face than was usual for the easy-going Weasley.

"Didn't do anything? Dad, he's planning on starving the kid, and if he's threatened it for something like this, I can't see him not doing the same for all the other accidental magic Harry was punished for." Bill shook his head in shock. He looked around, but while the adults all looked angry, and maybe a little bit helpless, he was expecting more mutinous looked from the teens. However, most of them were sitting quietly with their heads down, or glaring at one or more of the Order members. He wasn't confused for very long, however, when Molly said quietly,

"I didn't know…" Everyone looked at her in shock, not so much for her admitting to a wrong, but because her soft, shaky voice was such a contrast to her usual angry yelling. "I thought you boys were exaggerating…I, I thought maybe you were assuming things, but I guess not." She looked at Ron suddenly, who practically jumped when she said his name. "Ron, I'm sorry, I didn't know…" She trailed off again, looking hopelessly at Arthur, who handed her a handkerchief and started murmuring soothingly to her.

As for the rest of the room, most were in still in shock, but before anyone else could say more, Hermione spoke up in a very subdued voice.

"I…I think we should just continue, and get it all over and done with. The chapter's almost over anyway." With one more glance at the two Weasley parents, who were still talking quietly, she began.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard** **much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food.**

Remus had a very bittersweet smile on his face at that. He remembered how James had once said that as soon as Harry was old enough, he would give him all the tricks he needed to sneak food out from under anyone's nose. While his late friend had been referring to Hogwarts, of course, the werewolf couldn't help but think about how Harry had honed those skills anyway, and what James would possibly think if he knew.

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash.**

Ginny sniffed a little, and said, "Sometimes, the saying 'ignorance is bliss' can be completely wrong, you know." She sniffed slightly again, and Luna patted her absently on the shoulder.

**He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**

Most people gasped at that description, understanding implicitly that that was the attack, but the adults understanding more specifically which curse it was that Harry had really survived.

For his part, Severus had what appeared to be a death grip on the arms of his chair, and his face had stilled so completely and paled so much if the other occupants hadn't known he was still breathing, they might have thought he was made of stone. He knew that the Dark Lord was nothing if not predictable, and would have taken no chances with the Potters, and was trying not to picture his last memory of Lily contaminated with the idea of that dreadful unforgiveable being used on her.

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all.**

**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

Neville was almost as pale as Severus by this point, knowing exactly how Harry felt, though he also felt incredibly guilty knowing that at least he had grown up with the truth of what had happened to them, as well as stories and pictures of them from before that fateful attack.

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family.**

Minerva, Remus, and Sirius all flinched at this, all wondering why they hadn't done more when they had the opportunity, and the knowledge that hindsight was 20/20 was not comforting to any of them at the moment.

**Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too.**

"You're kidding me!" Hermione interrupted herself. She and Ron had suspected and talked about the possibility of this being the reality of Harry's home life, so neither were as shocked as the rest of the room. Thus, Hermione had been paying a little more attention to what she had been reading than most of the other people. "How exactly is living with his relatives 'safe' if wizards are able to just happen upon him when he's out in public?" Most people looked confused, since they hadn't fully absorbed the last sentence or two yet, but instead of explaining Hermione shook her head, frustrated, and continued.

**A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley.**

"Dedalus…" Minerva muttered to herself, shaking her head. She was honestly surprised the cat hadn't been let out of the bag after that encounter, since the tiny man had always been poor at keeping secrets; especially ones that concerned him, and which amped up his excitement even higher than normal.

**After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

"Poor Harry, I wonder if he thought he was going mad?" Neville said now, though to his surprise Ron laughed a little at this. Seeing how confused this made his dorm mate, he whispered an explanation.

"Mate, every year, at one point in time or another, Harry seems convinced he's going mad, so really he can't have been all that sane to start with, now can he?"

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Well, I hate to break it to you, bub, but—"

"—you've just convinced a whole room full of people to disagree with you." The twins said, with angry looks they only reserved for when they were aiming Bludgers at opponents on the Quidditch field.

Hermione closed the book and looked around. The room was still unbalanced from all the new revelations they had learned about Harry and his home life, so it wasn't surprising to her that it took awhile for everyone to realize she had finished. That is, until Sirius suddenly stood up and marched over to the library door, ripped it open, and headed straight for the front door.


	5. When owls get angry

**AN: Hello again, friends. This is just really a quick update and very short chapter to help my plot along, and I'm sorry it took me awhile to get this little bit up, but my Spring Break wasn't as busy-free as I was hoping. Anyway, I am starting the next 'reading' chapter, so hopefully I'll be done with that relatively quickly. Also, I wanted to thank everyone for getting my review count into double digits!**

**I just hope some of you don't decide to mutiny and boycott me when you get through this chapter, since I know a good portion of the reviewers want Harry to show up. Sorry to disappoint you all, but he's not coming into the story yet for quite awhile. Take heart, though! I am planning on having him brought to Grimmauld Place, but you'll need to be patient, since that is one of the only things I have planned out, and I'm not intending on changing it, either. And so, without further ado...  
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**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter...just some HP movie ticket stubs from various midnight premieres.

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><p><strong>Previously: <strong>_…until Sirius suddenly stood up and marched over to the library door, ripped it open, and headed straight for the foyer._

Remus—who had been waiting for some sort of explosion from his friend—was right on his heels, and he managed to intercept the convict before he even got down the stairs. Minerva, Molly, Arthur, and Severus (for curiosity's sake only, he told himself) had all followed them out into the hall, with Arthur asking Bill to keep the teens occupied, since he figured this would take a little while.

"Sirius!" Remus whispered fiercely, trying not to wake up Mrs. Black a second day in a row while struggling to keep Sirius from any more forward momentum. "Sirius, stop! Calm down!"

"Remus, don't tell me to calm down! You heard what they did! We need to get him out NOW. This has gone on for fourteen years too long."

"No, Sirius, _we_ need to calm down and talk about what our next step is so you don't end up back in Azkaban and the rest of us don't end up jobless, or even homeless." This didn't seem to have any effect on the man, however, and Remus realized he would probably have to take drastic measures to stop his friend from heading straight to Privet Drive. So he let go of the convict.

Sirius was so surprised that his friend's resistance had disappeared he almost lost his balance and toppled off the landing, but caught himself just in time, turning to look at the werewolf.

"Finally come to your senses, then?" He asked, irritably straightening his rather rumpled clothes from his previous wrestling against his friend's uncommon strength.

"I could ask you the same thing," Remus replied, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have a plan as to how exactly you are going to get Harry out of there? Or were you going to go with your default 'make-it-up-as-you-go' method?"

"That doesn't matter, as long as we get him out of there." Sirius said, stubbornly ignoring the fact that Remus was right about his dubious planning methods. He looked around, noticing the two older Weasleys, but his hopes of finding an ally in either Molly or Arthur were dashed when neither made eye contact; Molly still looking more sad and guilt-ridden than angry.

"Sirius, we all want Harry to be as safe as possible, and while we can all agree—I think—that the Dursley household no longer qualifies, I think it is a better alternative to Harry ending up, say, at the Ministry, where they are already dragging his name through the mud without us handing him over on a silver platter." Remus was trying to make Sirius see things as reasonably as possible. Though since he wasn't sure how successful he would be, he was also tensed and ready to grab the dark-haired man if he tried to leave again.

"Who says Harry would end up at the Ministry? I haven't been _that_ out of touch with what's going on, Remus, and I'm not that much of an idiot to cross their paths." Sirius responded, with a disgusted look both for the Ministry and Severus, who had snorted disbelievingly at Sirius' assessment of his own intelligence.

"Oh really, Sirius? Think for one minute about who is on duty right now at Privet Drive." Seeing his friend's confused face, he rolled his eyes. "Tonks." Sirius looked very nonplussed at this revelation. Remus rolled his eyes again in frustration. "An _Auror_. Who's duty bound to arrest you on sight if she wants to keep her job. Not to mention Arabella, who's keeping an eye out for Albus. You _know_ he would interfere, and send the boy back, if not take him somewhere you can't get to him." Sirius opened his mouth to make a counter-argument, but stopped, realizing that Remus might have a point. At that thought, his shoulders slumped, and he looked at the group opposite him almost desperately.

"But look what they've done to him…starving, living in a cupboard, threatening…Damn it! He's my godson! How do you think he'll react when we do finally get him and he finds out we knew about his situation and LEFT him there anyway?" To everyone's surprise, it was Severus who answered the Animagus, looking unusually serious, without a hint of mockery in his voice.

"He will most likely be angry, but not that we left him where he clearly does not want to be." Seeing how the Weasleys and Sirius weren't following him, he reluctantly elaborated with a sigh. "Potter will most likely deny everything. The boy has too much pride to admit and surrender to the idea that he has been…mistreated."

Minerva was the only one who heard the hesitation in Severus' voice at the end of his statement, and she only had because she had been listening for it. She knew little about Severus' own childhood, but the rumors from when he had been in school, and her own talks with Albus had given her some solid suspicions. The fact that the man was now avoiding the word 'abuse' fairly confirmed her theory, and she had to admit he was probably right about her young Gryffindor's reaction to a possible slight on his pride.

Everyone else was looking at the grave man in various stages of confusion and surprise, though Remus also looked relieved to have someone actively arguing on his side. The silence was also stretching to an uncomfortable length by this point, and Severus was regretting ever having spoken. While he would have been glad to see the mutt thrown back in a cell, he could not in good conscience allow such a fumbling attempt at a 'rescue' continue knowing the consequences.

It may not have seemed like it to anyone else, but as the last chapter had progressed the Potions master had been absorbing all of the little details and hints that the others might have missed, and though he was loathe to say it out loud, he had reconciled with himself that Potter was not in fact exactly like his elder counterpart. Yes, they both had insufferable pride, stubbornness, and the ability to meddle in everything, but he could respect where the teenager's idiosyncrasies had manifested, and understood the difference between being arrogant and aloof as opposed to defensive and distrustful. His point just seemed to fuel Sirius' own arguments, however, rather than derailing the aggravating man's rash plan.

"If he's in denial about everything, there's even more reason to remove him from the environment, then! I don't care if he gets angry with me about it, since he already is over not telling him anything this summer, but as long as he's away from his relatives, I can handle it."

"Oh really, Black?" Severus' sneer had slowly returned the longer the Animagus talked, and now he definitely regretted ever having joined the conversation. "Have you ever dealt with an adolescent facing these problems? Do you know how to approach children who have suffered emotionally? Psychologically? Physically? You can barely take care of yourself, let alone someone who would be almost completely dependent on you."

At these words, Sirius' face had darkened even more, and he lunged towards his sneering nemesis, with a mind to show him just how easily he could 'handle' problems. He was brought up short by Minerva, though, who literally stepped right in front of him with her arms crossed.

"Sirius, don't even think about attacking Severus. While I disagree with his tone," at this she threw a glare over her shoulder at her colleague, but nonetheless continued talking to her ex-student, "I think he has a valid point, as does Remus. As he has done in the past, Potter will resist any aid offered, and no matter how much any of us want to act right now on Mr. Potter's behalf, we will run into someone with more influence over decisions regarding him, and he will not remain with us for very long. As I pointed out earlier, they have not physically put him in harm's way—though I do agree that there are clearly some severely alarming signs of emotional abuse—and without evidence from a more reliable source than a book from the future, there will be no convincing anyone, let alone Albus, that he should be removed." When she had finished, her gaze softened slightly while taking in Sirius' once again slumped shoulders.

"I give you my word, however, that as soon as we find an opportune moment that will not result in directly disregarding either the Order's or the Ministry's wishes, I will personally see to Mr. Potter's removal from his current residence." She held Sirius's gaze for a solid thirty seconds at this pronouncement, and he realized that his old Head of House was completely sincere in her word. He nodded, slightly comforted by this, and looked behind him at a still tense Remus.

"Its okay, Remus, I won't try and run off again," …_for now_, he added in his head rebelliously, still trying to squash the guilty feeling that had emerged in the last chapter. His friend relaxed, nodding tiredly and clearly thanking him silently for relenting. When the four adults still closest to the Library turned back towards the door, Sirius noticed that Remus did not. Sending him a questioning look, the werewolf gestured down the stairs, and trusting his friend to follow, led them both into the kitchen. He had decided that now was as good a time as any to try and talk Sirius out of his guilt, since that would only keep the convict on edge enough to risk something rash again.

Back in front of the Library, however, the returning adults were distracted from noticing their two missing members by the sounds of loud thumps and yells coming from the other side of the door. Looking weary and yet anxious about what the commotion could possibly be about, Arthur chanced opening the door slightly. He relaxed, however, when his eyes took in the scene in front of him, and he gestured the other three Order members in as he opened the door more fully.

The yelling and thumps were coming mostly from Ron and Ginny, who were in the middle of the room, waving pillows around, while Hermione was still sitting on the couch, with Neville and Luna leaning over her, murmuring and doing something with their hands. Bill was standing slightly away from his two youngest siblings, not bothering to hide his laughter, but also seeming to try and aid in their predicament. Said predicament was circling the chandelier overhead, letting out a screech every once in awhile and appearing to dive at the red heads angrily, sometimes getting through the flailing arms, and sometimes getting buffeted by the waving pillows, which simply angered the Snowy Owl even further. The twins were nowhere in sight.

Upon entering the room, Molly let out a gasp, and practically shrieked, "What in Merlin's name is going on in here?" This effectively got everyone's attention, silencing and freezing all the occupants save the owl still flying around near the ceiling, though no longer screeching.

"Hedwig's gone mad!" Ron blurted out suddenly, and then ducked, as the owl in question seemed to take offense at this observation and made a passing snap at his head, only narrowly missing. Hermione then spoke up, having pushed both Luna and Neville away slightly, though she appeared to have a wad of slightly bloody material wrapped around one hand.

"I've never seen her this worked up before…" she trailed off, thinking, and at that moment, the twins reappeared from behind the adults, one carrying a cage, and the other a handful of owl treats. Seeing that the chaos had lessened somewhat, their gleeful expressions dimmed, though they kept moving forward into the room, and handed off their items to Bill.

"Hey Bill, have you recruited some more volunteers for Operation Owl Catch?" Fred asked, smirking up at Hedwig, who seemed even more put out by the presence of a cage.

"Why don't you just ask her to go back to Harry's without a note?" Molly asked, looking around in concern at how much damage the boy's owl seemed capable of.

"We've tried, mum. I left the window in my room open when we were up there earlier, but she just doesn't seem to want to go." Ron answered, glaring up towards the ceiling again. Ginny nodded, adding,

"We even tried giving her a little note—we didn't write anything important, I promise—but she refused to even take it." She grimaced, glancing down at her hand, which was the unfortunate victim of that attempted solution.

Her glance brought everyone's attention down to the bleeding nip on her thumb, and looking more carefully at the other teens, both Minerva and Severus noticed similar injuries to almost every child except Luna, who was now looking at the owl curiously. Molly and Arthur hadn't missed a beat on seeing the blood, and while her father fixed up Ginny's hand, Molly slowly started making the rounds to her other children. Minerva looked up calculatingly at the owl and turned to Bill with a question.

"How long has she been like this? She seemed perfectly fine perched behind Severus before." She received a bemused shrug as an answer, and when she lifted an expectant eyebrow, Bill elaborated, running a hand through his hair dazedly.

"Well, she _was_ fine, until Ron and Hermione started talking about whether or not Harry would actually be allowed to come here. She must have, I don't know, figured out that Hermione wasn't too optimistic about the whole thing and suddenly launched herself across the room and started pecking her hands. Ron and Ginny tried to get her off, but she just started in on them too, so I sent the twins to fetch the cage, and that's pretty much how it was when you guys came back." He shrugged again, looking cautiously upwards, as if hoping Hedwig hadn't taken offense at his rendition of the story. Neville piped up quietly with a question of his own, now that the room was quieter and the owl seemed less inclined to attack people on a whim.

"What does she want, though? Clearly she's waiting for something, but if it's not to return to Harry or to deliver a note, what could it possibly be?" Before anyone else could offer an opinion, Luna turned from her observation of Hedwig and answered the question.

"Well, obviously, I think she just wants to be asked to listen to the story. It is rather rude not asking if she wanted to join us in the first place, you know." Hermione was shaking her head in disbelief at that theory while most others looked skeptical as well, but then to everyone's surprise, Hedwig flew down and landed on the couch arm next to the Ravenclaw, and cooed curiously at her. She nodded her head as if in understanding, patted the owl lightly on the back, and turned to Minerva expectantly. "Well, Professor? I think Harry's owl would really like an answer." Having no other possible recourse, Minerva turned to Hedwig, a little shocked that she was stooping so low as to talk to an animal, but continued nonetheless.

"Yes, well….Hedwig, you are welcome to continue listening to Harry's story with us, if you like. But," Her voice hardened a little and she looked sternly at the owl as she continued, "if you continue to attack anybody here, I will be forced to confine you until you are calm." Feeling a little ridiculous that she had just threatened a bird, the Gryffindor was surprised to see that Hedwig appeared to be seriously considering her offer, and after one intense glare at the cage Bill still had in his hand, she took off again, and landed on the table next to where the book had been left in the students' haste to escape her beak and talons.

By this time, Molly had made her way over to Hermione, Neville, and Luna and had finished up taking care of Hermione's rather numerous injuries. Remus and Sirius also reappeared, and though both men seemed a little worse for wear emotionally, they noticed the odd energy in the room, and looked around curiously. Not wanting to get Hedwig riled up again, Minerva just shook her head quellingly at what were sure to be questions from the two men, and simply gestured that they all take a seat. When everyone had settled down comfortably again—Hedwig having settled behind Luna this time—she nodded to the book.

"So, who would like to continue?" After a glance at the Grandfather clock in the corner, she noted the time. "Since these chapters have been taking so long, I believe we may only be able to finish one more before dinner, and the sooner we start, the sooner we finish."

Hermione looked as though she was going to volunteer again, but was beaten to it by Bill.

"Professor, I think I'd like to read, if you don't mind." The curse breaker was actually quite curious to learn more about his youngest brother's friend, and since he seemed to be the most out of the loop, he was eager to see exactly how everyone had seemed to become so acquainted with Harry's odd habits and quirks. Minerva nodded slightly, and the book was passed over to Bill, who opened it to the third chapter, cleared his throat, and began.

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><p><strong>AN: Again...please don't hate me. And if you have any questions, don't be afraid to pose them in a PM...or even a review! (hinthint) ^_^<strong>


	6. When they read SS3

**Hello all! I apologize for such a long wait, but I realized as I was putting off writing this chapter that I really don't like it all that much (sorry!) I finally pushed through and finished it, though, and it's over 10,000 words, so hopefully that will help with the withdrawal. I should warn you, though, it is once more emotionally crazy, but I honestly don't see it realistically being any other way, so don't kill me, please!**

**Fopr anyone wondering, NO Harry is not coming soon, and YES I do know that he's not gonna be happy about it when he finds out, but I think this chapter will help explain a little bit about why I'm putting it off (its kind of a lame reason, but just bear with me).**

**One more thing before I let you go...check out my profile, I've put up a poll about writing a separate fic for all those missing conversations and event I refer to in this story, but don't actually go into detail about it. Personally, I think it'll be kind of fun trying to write something with no input from another story source, but it's really up to you if you want to read something like that or not. Okay, done talking now, I promise! Enjoy...**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter...just a pottermore account that miitates the real thing.

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><p>Bill took a deep breath and started, "<strong>Chapter Four: The Letters From No One<strong>,"

"So Harry wasn't allowed visitors, but he could receive mail?" Bill interrupted himself, looking confused. "That's as inconsistent as Hermione's point about wizards finding Harry in public." He shook his head as Remus spoke up, looking just as confused.

"That can't be right…I once tried to send a letter to Harry and the owl came back without delivering it, though I never found out why." His brow wrinkled as he tried to think of the possible reasons an owl would fail to deliver a letter. Sirius laughed.

"Well, Remus, maybe the owl just didn't feel particularly obliged to you and your mail…did you ask him nicely?" He asked, glancing quickly towards Hedwig, as if making sure she hadn't decided he was insulting her. His friend, instead of answering, just gave him a 'look', while Bill apparently gave up on getting an answer to yet another puzzle and actually started the chapter itself.

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment.**

"Exactly how long is 'longest-ever'?" Arthur asked hesitantly, looking towards Ron and Hermione even though it had been clear earlier that Harry hadn't shared any details with the pair.

Both students simply shook their heads negatively after sharing a quick glance, and it was clear that no one else knew what that meant either, though that one sentence had effectively brought everyone's attention back to the depressed tone of the book that had been temporarily lifted with Hedwig's antics.

**By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**

"Oh!" Hermione suddenly broke in, appearing to concentrate hard on something as she continued, "I remember Harry telling us something about his cousin using his 'superior age' as reason for his actions. I just can't think of how much older Dudley is than Harry…can you, Ron?" She asked, looking over her shoulder. Ron tilted his head slightly in thought, trying to ignore the fact that most everyone's eyes (including Hedwig's, to Ron's chagrin) were trained on him as if he could solve the greatest mystery in the world.

"Well, I know he said it wasn't actually all that much before his own…it couldn't have been more than a month or two, right?" Seeing Hermione's helpless shrug, he turned to the room in general and copied the movement.

Sirius gave a little sigh, 'Well, at least we know he wasn't locked up through Christmas, like Dursley originally threatened." While not exactly comforting, this did seem to give most people at least a sense of closure to their curiosity, and Bill continued again.

**And Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

By this time Molly was shaking her head in disgust while all of her children shuddered, imagining what would have happened to them had they even tried a fraction of what Dudley got away with regularly.

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

Severus rolled his eyes, not intending to say anything, but the challenging look he received from Black spurred him to speak up.

"Don't worry, Black, your precious ego is safe. Anyone who knew Pettigrew could see that Dursley's philosophy on leadership wasn't based off of your little group." Though it was said with his usual vitriol and sneering, everyone paused in silence after this pronouncement, and Remus finally said, with an almost invisible smile,

"I don't know if we've just been complimented or insulted, Sirius, what do you think?" Of course, the werewolf wasn't expecting a response—which didn't come anyway—because Sirius was just staring unblinkingly at the Potions master as if he has just proposed they share conversation over a drink at the Leaky Cauldron.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport:**

All it took was the slightest hesitation from Bill as he read exactly what said sport was called, and before he could share it with the room, the twins jumped in, trying to shake Sirius out of his stupor with humor.

"Sitting on his bum?"

"Whining?"

"Oh, wait, I know, eating contests!"

"No, no, Demolition Derbies, for sure!"

"Do you even know what that is?" Hermione broke in, shaking her head, though she was slightly unnerved when both boys just gave her sneaky smiles and winked knowingly. They had achieved their goal of distracting Sirius, though, so they desisted from continuing on with their hypothesizing, noticing that Bill for once didn't seem to enjoy the joking around.

**Harry Hunting.**

Clearly frustrated with hearing nonstop about Harry being miserable, Ginny growled without thinking, "Why doesn't he just come out and join Voldemort, then, since that's what he's been trying to do for fifteen years without success?" Hearing Neville make a little 'yelp' from next to her, she looked around questioningly at the shocked faces. "What?"

"Uh…Ginny, you just said You-Know—oh, alright V-V-Voldemort's—name…not to mention I think you just insulted him as well," Ron finished up, with a look for his sister falling somewhere between awed and flabbergasted. His sister then blushed brightly, not having realized it earlier, and mumbled,

"Yeah, well…maybe Harry's getting to me…" though she trailed off in an embarrassed silence when she realized how her brothers would probably twist that around to give them one more thing to tease her about. With a little smile on his face, Bill continued.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around**

"So it's not just a habit he picked up at school, then?" Minerva spoke up now, raising one eyebrow in imitation of the severe look she usually reserved for the most troublesome students (a good portion of which were in the room at the moment, she had to admit), with a hint of amusement in her voice. Ron and Hermione simply gave her helpless shrugs, as if saying 'well, we can't stop him, so we just get dragged along', while Severus and Remus both let out suspiciously similar snorts.

"See, Minerva," Sirius cut in, repressing his own laughter in exchange for bantering with his ex-disciplinarian, "Now you can't blame James' genes for Harry's troublesome habits, it was all his cousin's fault!" His grin only widened, though, when she just shot him a very skeptical look.

**And thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope.**

"Which, for Harry, is like staring directly at the sun," Ron mumbled to Hermione, who had to cover her mouth so as not to interrupt Bill's reading with her chuckles.

**When September came he would be going off to secondary school,**

"Muggles have to attend more than one school?" Neville asked, with a somewhat tortured look on his face. Merlin knew he had enough trouble at Hogwarts without adding some other place he needed to take classes at. Hermione took pity on her fellow Gryffindor, however, and so as not to hurt his feelings, she managed to answer him without laughing.

"Neville, they don't go to multiple schools at the same time, but rather they start schooling when they are usually five or six, and attend until they are seventeen or eighteen, unless they want to continue on to University, which can take any number of years, depending on what they study. But, since that is a lot of children in one place, they split the age groups up into different buildings, so Harry is simply going to a new building in a new location for classes."

At this explanation, Neville nodded, looking a little overwhelmed. He was trying to imagine every Muggle child being crammed into a Hogwarts-like building, and considering there were generally more Muggles than Wizards in England, it was a little intimidating, especially given that Hogwarts was fairly crowded with just their age ranges. Mr. Weasley was also trying to imagine the Muggle School System, though he was more fascinated with the idea and the organization and was determined to remember to ask Hermione more about it during dinner.

**And for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley.**

"And, hopefully, this year will be the last time in his life he'll have to live with Dudley," Sirius muttered to Remus, who nodded hesitantly, not wanting to encourage Harry's godfather into arguing with Minerva about his godson's living conditions so soon after the last confrontation.

**Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school.**

"Poor, deluded Harry, he doesn't even know that— "

"—he's going to be swept off to Scotland, does he?" The twins were shaking their head mournfully again at Harry's perceived lack of enthusiasm for Hogwarts. Ginny was rolling her eyes at her brothers.

"That just makes it sound like we kidnapped him or something, you idiots." She pointedly ignored their insulted glares and motioned for Bill to keep going.

**Dudley thought this was very funny.**

Fred and George shared a glance that their siblings could only describe as sickly. For once, however, they chose not to explain, knowing well enough what the response would be when they pointed out that they had similar tastes in 'Harry humor' to Dudley.

"**They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

This time it was Ron who turned a sickly green color, and at Hermione's quirked eyebrow he whispered.

"Imagine having your head stuffed down Myrtle's toilet while she's moping." Hermione blanched, having spent enough time in Myrtle's company in second year to know how that would go over.

"**No thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it – it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

Many of the room's occupants rolled their eyes at this, though it was an even split between their disdain for Dudley or their amusement at Harry's witticism.

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's.**

"Considering what happened the last time Harry went with them, that's probably a blessing in disguise." Remus had to say, when Sirius looked like he was getting aggravated again.

**Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual.**

When Remus sent his friend a look, Sirius simply rolled his eyes, thinking his friend looked much too smug for being correct about such a trivial observation.

**It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as through she'd had it for years.**

Neville wrinkled his nose, along with the other teenage boys, though their commiseration with Harry was cut short by Luna.

"It's the thought that counts. I'm sure Harry enjoyed his treat." Neville blinked slightly, realizing that the young Ravenclaw was probably right; Harry did have a large capacity for appreciating small gestures.

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore…**

Bill suddenly choked, and the adults looked highly alarmed, until they realized he was trying to unsuccessfully stifle laughter. This went on for about a solid thirty seconds, and feeling like his son wouldn't calm down enough to read coherently, Arthur gently took the book away from his eldest child and found the spot where they had left off.

…**Maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

Arthur was forced to stop at this point, though, because Bill's laughter had been joined by all of the teens and Sirius, and it was so loud no one else in the room could hear the red-headed man.

Not that the professors, Molly or Remus minded, though, as they were all trying to figure out why Muggles would put together an outfit so eccentric not even Albus would deign to wear. Even Severus was sympathetic for once, picturing his own poor excuse for a pre-Hogwarts wardrobe, and giving him the expression of painful disbelief and horror.

After everyone had finally calmed down, and the erratic burst of reminiscent laughter had subsided, Arthur handed the book back to Bill, pointing out where he had been interrupted.

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life.**

"Should we have expected any less from the man who ritually picks out his most boring tie for work?" Ginny asked cynically, secretly glad the Dursley's had not foisted Dudley's old uniforms on Harry along with all his other hand-me-downs.

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudlekins,** **he looked so handsome and grown-up.**

Severus leaned back in his chair and mumbled, "Sadly, I can't say that surprises me, Petunia." As he appeared to be talking to himself, Minerva shot him a curious glance to which Severus didn't respond. This was either because he hadn't seen it or he was purposely ignoring her, she thought, but couldn't figure out which scenario was most likely at the moment.

**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

"I don't blame you, kid." Sirius said, still slightly red in the face from how hard he had been laughing.

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast.**

"Well no wonder they wanted Harry cooking breakfast…." Ron muttered, having a very hard time imagining how someone could ruin food to the point that it smelled unappetizing.

**It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

"Oh…" Ron flushed, but he was relieved when it seemed like no one had heard or taken account of his comment.

"**What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

This of course caused Minerva's lips to thin in agitation, though she refrained from interrupting, since they hadn't gotten very far in the chapter as it was.

"**Your new school uniform," she said.**

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

"**Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

"**Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

"Well, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, so it seems Mrs. Dursley is accurate at least in her assessment of Potter's intelligence." Severus smirked, satisfied at how easy it was to rile Black up, who was turning red again, though from irritation rather than humor this time.

"Severus, please." Minerva put a hand on his arm in a quelling gesture and continued her censure in a low voice. "We were intended to make it through all of these books, with the same amount of occupants in the room. Unless you are tiring of dwelling with us mere mortals, try and stop yourself from overly instigating any quarrels." The only reply she got from her ex-student was a dismissive shrug, which also had the bonus of pulling Severus' arm away from his biased colleague.

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.**

Minerva sighed, thinking to herself that Harry must have left this tidbit of common sense behind when he had come to school, since he had never held his tongue when arguing with her, however much in the wrong he had been.

**He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High – like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

"More like a young Crumple-horned Snorkak, though it's understandable that Harry's confused, many people mistake the two animals for each other." Luna nodded very seriously, completely missing Hermione and Ron's silent squabble—Hermione had opened her mouth to correct the Ravenclaw, but Ron had elbowed her because he really wanted to finish the chapter so they could move on to more important things, namely dinner.

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

"What a pleasantly revolting morning ritual," Sirius said to Remus while wrinkling his own nose in imitation to the Dursley men.

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

"**Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

All the teenagers raised their eyebrows in surprise at this, but Bill interceded with a frustrated look before they could voice their astonishment.

"It's not that surprising, considering Vernon likes to pretend Harry doesn't exist. You can't have someone who's not there jump to your every whim." Not being able to disagree with this, many slumped in their seats, not sure whether to be pleased that Harry wasn't being treated like a slave, or disappointed that he wasn't being treated like any sort of person at all.

"**Make Harry get it."**

"**Get the mail, Harry."**

"**Make Dudley get it."**

"**Poke him with you Smelting stick, Dudley."**

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick**

Ron's expression grew somewhat thoughtful at hearing this, though he—prudently— leaned over and told the twins and Neville his thought, rather than Hermione.

"You know, for all that they were terrible, we probably have to thank the Dursley's for shaping Harry into the quickest and most agile seeker Hogwarts has ever seen."

They nodded, solemn yet also agreeing with the observation. Having seen Harry fly on the Gryffindor Quidditch team for four years (and in the twins' cases, playing with him), they had to admit his skill couldn't possibly come from having athleticism passed on to him from his parents.

**And went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat:**

"They're just regular social butterflies, now aren't they?" Hermione said sarcastically. Being one of the only person in the house to live for an extended period of time in the Muggle world (barring Severus, of course, but she had no way of knowing this), she knew that her parents, at least, got a lot more mail, including—more and more often—adverts and coupons. Before anyone, especially Mr. Weasley, could comment on this, Luna once again broke into the conversation unexpectedly, with another somewhat bewildering question.

"I thought the Dursleys were Muggles? Does Harry live in a garden, then?"

**A postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, **

Before Bill could continue, the twins stood up, walked over to him, and started examining him very closely. Completely confused, and not a little bit uncomfortable with the close scrutiny, Bill asked,

"Uh, guys? What are you doing?" He wasn't answered at first, though, as the twins shared a glance, shook their heads in unison and returned to their seats. Once they were comfortably settled—Bill suspected they were playing up and stalling intentionally to 'increase the drama'—they turned to the room with concerned faces.

"Sirius," Fred began, "I think when you finally get custody of Harry you need to take him to get better glasses as soon as possible. He's been wearing the same pair ever since we've known him—" Here George cut in and finished the thought.

"—and they can't be very effective, since we've decided Bill over here doesn't look even _remotely_ like a brown envelope." Satisfied at the stunned looks they were receiving, they once again set about resettling into comfortable positions on their couch.

It took a few seconds for everyone to completely absorb what the twins meant, but there was no doubt when they got the joke as the room was filled with chuckles, eye rolls, and head shakes, though Luna was looking very seriously at Bill as if to see for herself that the twins were correct. Deciding to take the high road and _not_ curse his brothers, Bill simply gave them a nonplussed look and turned back to the book.

**And – **_**a letter for Harry.**_

Sirius stopped chuckling and sat up with an eager and curious look so suddenly, Remus almost became concerned that something was wrong. Until his friend opened his mouth and he understood.

"Minerva….is that…_that_ letter?" Minerva's gaze sharpened as she turned swiftly to Sirius, trying to calculate in her head when she had mailed out the student letters that summer. As she slowly began to nod in hesitant agreement, the rest of the room's occupants straightened up in their seats. Even just the promise of Harry moving on into more magical happenings was enough to dispel the angry and depressing state the Dursleys had put the room in for the last two and a half chapters.

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him.**

"At least we all followed Albus' restrictions close enough." Remus mumbled self-depreciatingly, thinking about how it may have ended up being worth it to defy the older Headmaster for once.

**Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives – he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back.**

Neville shuddered; he was grateful that Madam Pince hadn't yet picked up that particular trait from muggle libraries. She was already severe and stiff enough just in the Library itself without having little paper reminders in her snippy tone following you around the rest of the school, in his opinion.

**Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**The Cupboard under the Stairs**

Severus raised his eyebrows in surprise as he glanced towards his colleague. In a rare show of consideration, however, he leaned over and murmured his question to her, rather than bringing it up for the whole room to hear.

"Minerva, I'm surprised you missed that. I was under the impression you signed every welcome letter to students yourself, and therefore, you had an opportunity to view all of their addressed envelopes before they were sent out." Unfortunately for the Slytherin Head, his fellow professor didn't rise to the bait, and seemed to have gotten control over her temper during Black's most recent attempt to kidnap his godson. Rather she simply raised an eyebrow of her own and responded.

"Why, Severus, I wasn't aware you were so interested in the duties of the Deputy Head. As a matter of fact, I do personally sign each letter, but after that I do not have any control or input over the process. In fact, I remember that year in particular I was quite busy and as such had a house-elf retrieve the signed letters and send them on their way." Her colleague still looked puzzled, however, and also a bit curious about the whole mysterious process, so she elaborated a bit further.

"The book-keeping room with the ledger of students is where the envelopes are addressed, by the same quill that marks down future students as they are born, and there is a small private owlry attached, as well as its own staff of house-elves, so why would I be involved in any other part of the process?" This finally seemed to satisfy the younger man, and he sat back as they both returned their focus to the room at large in time to hear Arthur's next comment.

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey**

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.**

Arthur spoke up excitedly at this point (as Severus and Minerva were finishing their own conversation). "Those stamps are quite fascinating, you know. Molly and I had to use them last year when we asked the Dursleys if we could take Harry to the Quidditch Cup. They had so many different pictures, numbers, and colors on them! Hermione, do you think you could explain what they all mean at some point?"

The girl in question nodded her head with a small grin, trying to ignore Ron, as his expression at his father's enthusiasm was threatening to make her burst into giggles.

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding the letter H.**

Most people by this time were thinking back to when they had first received their own personally-addressed Hogwarts letters, except Luna. She was (quite ironically) glancing strangely at all the vacant stares and grins running rampant throughout the room, wondering why everyone seemed to have stopped listening to the story. Shrugging to herself, she absently leaned back and started stroking Hedwig's head, causing the owl to coo softly in her ear.

"**Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

Hermione was the first person to snap out of her reminiscing, shaking her head confusedly. When Ron sent her a questioning glance, she leaned over and explained.

"I don't understand how Harry's uncle would find the possibility that his family would receive an exploding envelope as being funny." She groaned, however, when she heard the twins gasp and then start muttering excitedly. Ginny patted her arm in sympathy, though she couldn't suppress a snicker.

"Don't worry, Hermione, You're not the first, or last, person to ever unintentionally inspire mischief on those two's parts."

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter.**

Now it was Neville's turn to groan. He had learned from experience that any sort of luck that ran counter to a strict guardian's rules never went over well, intentional or not. Somehow, he couldn't see Harry receiving a letter—especially one so clearly magical—as being fine by the Dursleys.

**He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**

Others must have picked up on this lack of foresight on the boy's part, because now Severus was frowning slightly, and Sirius was shaking his head disappointedly, one would assume, at Harry's lapse in judgment when he had seemed so much more guarded around his relatives in the last chapter.

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.**

"**Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk..."**

"**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

"He would be the first to notice, wouldn't he?" Ron scoffed, doing his best to ignore the little voice in his head pointing to fact that Ron had done the same thing on occasion when he was younger—for almost the same reason as well: feeling cheated of his own attention.

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

"**That's **_**mine!**_**" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

Molly looked like she was about to say something in regards to Harry's manners, but Bill noticed before she could and cut her off.

"Mum, I don't think there's any point in telling Harry to be more polite. In this case, I think the only way he ever gets anything is by fighting fire with fire, as it were." While she looked like she disagreed with her eldest son's opinion on the matter, Molly chose not to actually say anything and just nodded stiffly with her lips pursed.

"**Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights.**

Arthur frowned. "Are those the lights that change color in the middle of London? I always wondered why exactly they did that, and how the cars knew what it meant." He scratched his head a little, pondering the curious contraptions he had seen once or twice when heading to the Ministry without Apparating or Flooing. Hermione once again had to stifle her giggles, and made a mental note to explain one more thing to her friend's father during dinner.

**And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

"**P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

Remus grimaced, and in a bit of grim humor turned to his ex-colleague and Head of House.

"Well, Minerva, at least you aren't the only adult in which Harry unintentionally causes heart attacks." Not sure whether to laugh or feel insulted, the Transfiguration professor simply nodded her head, absently rubbing the spot over her heart as if remembering all the times young Mr. Potter had practically shocked it into stopping.

"**Vernon! Oh my goodness – Vernon!"**

**The stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

Every Weasley child in the room paled while sharing shocked glances with each other, and doing their best to try and avoid looking at their parents—particularly Molly. Had they mustered up the courage, they would not have been the least bit surprised that she looked utterly scandalized and just about ready to head over to Surrey right then and show Dudley what kind of repercussions that sort of behavior merited. Once again, Arthur had to talk her down quietly with a firm grip on her elbow, however, and in less than a minute the room was focused back on the book, and what Bill was saying.

"**I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

"_**I**_** want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's **_**mine.**_**"**

"I think you spoke too soon about the whole 'Harry forgoing logic' thing, Bill." Ginny said, shaking her head in an attempt to appear disappointed that was completely ineffective as she was also smiling. "It looks like he's still trying to talk sense with his relatives, but just keeps running into a brick wall."

"**Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.**

**Harry didn't move.**

"**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

Arthur's eyes widened in astonishment.

"I never thought Harry had that much of a temper," he said absently. Unfortunately for him, many of the occupants in the room who had been on the wrong side of Harry's anger heard him and gave him incredulous looks. This didn't do much, however, as Arthur wasn't sure why everyone seemed surprised at his comment. That is, until Ron spoke up.

"You've really never seen Harry get angry, dad?" Getting a negative head shake in response, and seeing his mother with the same expression, Ron looked helplessly at Hermione; silently asking for help in explaining something that seemed really obvious.

"Well, Mr. Weasley, put it this way; Harry's temper is either hot or cold; when he's not angry he's fine, but when he is angry, he stays angry until he feels somehow justified in his own mind for dropping the anger. He's one of those people that will hold a grudge for as long as he sees fit, but at the same time will forgive someone just as quickly when he feels the issue has been resolved to the best of their ability."

What was left unsaid by the teens and Sirius, however, was the fact that this all-or-nothing approach Harry had with his temper was one reason many of them were anxious about not giving him any information about the Order, the War, or even the books. They all felt he would be completely justified in being angry, and knew that would just increase the intensity tenfold, to the misfortune of their side of the argument. But, they were also shamelessly putting off the confrontation because they knew they couldn't come out on top anyway, since there was no conceivable way to reconcile this clear lack of consideration for Harry, and therefore little hope in said teen understanding or ever forgiving them.

"**Let **_**me**_** see it!" demanded Dudley.**

"**OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

"That was probably better for everyone involved anyway," Ginny muttered to her brothers. "His cousin probably wouldn't have been able to make it to the floor, or would've gotten stuck down there." This being true, the image it conjured in the four Weasleys' minds caused them to all snort quietly to themselves.

"**Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address – how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

"**Watching – spying – might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

"If only that were true," Sirius said, once again shaking his head at what he considered a personal failing on his part to watch out for his godson. Minerva, Severus, and Remus, however, were all frowning, thinking back to the hints from the last chapter about Arabella Figg possibly doing just that, though what that said about the lack of actual action taken was still depressingly ominous in their minds.

"**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want-"**

Severus couldn't help himself, he snorted derisively. When Minerva turned to stare at him curiously, he hastily added, "As if you would have let those two imbeciles outwit you, Minerva." Still looking slightly suspicious about his apparent compliment, the Head of Gryffindor turned back to the book all the same, and the Potions master let out a much quieter sigh of relief.

While he believed what he had just said, he had actually been remembering the letter he and Lily had pilfered from her sister over just about twenty years ago that had revealed the older girl's desperate plea to follow her younger sister's footsteps into the world of magic. _"We don't want" indeed, Petunia_, he sneered at his last memory of the stuck up girl in his mind.

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.**

"**No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer...Yes, that's best …we won't do anything..." **

"**But-"**

"**I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

Hearing this, Neville paled so dramatically, if anyone else had been paying attention, they would have thought he might faint. He shivered, trying to throw off the thoughts of his Uncle Algie's own similarly dangerous attempts to do quite the opposite; prove that the youngest Longbottom actually had magic at all.

The rest of the occupants in the room were more stunned by what they had heard than anything else, but rather than fall into what would have been another charged silence, they were distracted when Hedwig let out a very clearly indignant screech and once again took off from her current perch and began circling the chandelier in agitation—luckily, not taking her anger out on anyone else's hand this time.

If Remus hadn't thought he knew better, he would have said the bird was cursing out the man in the book. Of course, he mused (in a clear attempt to keep his mind off of the horrible implications of the last statement), Hedwig would probably recognize the reality of Vernon's words better than any human other than the residents of Privet Drive, and he could imagine how frustrating having that knowledge would be without any means to communicate the situation to someone better placed to intercede.

He was reluctantly brought out of his distractive wandering, however, when Severus suddenly straightened from his chair and began pacing furiously around one side of the Library, his black robes billowing behind him in an eerie reflection and juxtaposition to the snow white bird circling above. He suspected Minerva (or even himself) would have tried to question the man had it not been obvious to the entire room that Severus' anger was tightly wound and clearly written all over his face—though again Minerva picked up on the flicker of barely suppressed painful reminiscence that most others missed.

Glancing around at the rest of the room, Remus noticed that Sirius wasn't in a much better state, and had actually started shaking, from anger and self-restraint equally. Quickly tiring of expecting his friend to attempt running off once again, the werewolf simply moved straight past the 'concerned friend technique' and cuffed Sirius on the head, grabbing his attention.

"Don't even think about it. What we said earlier hasn't changed, even if Harry's apparent situation has." Remus hated looking like the 'bad guy', but he couldn't in good conscience let either Harry or Sirius face the consequences of removing the boy from Dumbledore's and the Durlsey's protection this soon, no matter the costs to anyone's psyche. Minerva's words earlier must have made an impact on the convict, however, because Remus was surprised when, rather than glaring or arguing, Sirius simply slumped back on the couch and asked despairingly,

"How hard do you think they tried 'stamping out' Harry's magic?" Since no one else had spoken since Vernon Dursley's declaration, the entire room had been either listening to Remus and Sirius talk, or were keeping a wary eye on the pacing potions professor, or the circling owl. Now, most turned to look at the two Marauders, wondering what the answer would be. Noticing the stares—and hopeful glances in some cases—Remus sighed once again (he was starting to think that was the only way he would keep breathing while these books were around).

"Well, as Minerva mentioned earlier—out in the hall," he added at the last minute for the benefit of those who had stayed in the Library, "there have only been mentions of threats and promises, but no actual show of violence towards Harry so far by any adult, which isn't necessarily a punishable offence." Merlin knew, he had heard Molly threaten more than her fair share of violence on her own children just in the last few weeks he had spent in Grimmauld Place with them, and no one was accusing her of mistreating any one of the red-headed brood.

Most of the students seemed to realize that, while they might not agree with this interpretation of things, the adults had all come to an agreement on this point and arguing would do no good. As such, they all stayed quiet, and a brooding silence once again fell over the room, which Bill reluctantly broke by clearing his throat.

"I'll just keep going, then…" He trailed off when all he received were a few despondent nods in return, but nothing so enthusiastic as the beginning of the chapter. He still turned his attention back to the book, however, and attempted to find his place while ignoring the still-circling Hedwig and the still-pacing Severus.

**That evening when he got back from work, **

"That's it? There's no more of that conversation?" Sirius asked angrily. He was selfishly hoping that the Dursleys would give them a really good reason to show up and take Harry, and was getting frustrated that there was nothing they could use as concrete evidence against them. Not that he wanted to hear about Harry in such a situation, but he rationalized that anything he heard had already happened, so it's not like he could change it now, so why not use that knowledge to prevent it from happening again?

**Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

"Well, if his uncle could fit, maybe the cupboard is bigger than we think." Ginny said, voicing more what she wished than what she actually thought. For once, the twins (who had actually seen the inside of the infamous cupboard) decided to be silent, and not ruin their sister's delusions.

Hermione, meanwhile, leaned over to Ron and whispered—in a much more hoarse voice than was usual for the girl;

"What I want to know is why Harry is spending any more time than he's forced to in that horrible excuse for a bedroom." Ron nodded in agreement, looking thoughtful. Having shared a dormitory for four years now, he recognized the fact that Harry liked 'hiding' from issues and people by closing his bed's curtains, which probably gave him a similar feeling to being holed up in a closet, he now thought.

"**Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

"Potter never was one to use subtlety, even when it is more advantageous," Severus very nearly growled, abruptly stopping in his tracks and sitting down once more. Most of the students had jumped when the seemingly-lost-in-thought man spoke, not realizing that he had been listening as intently as everyone else the entire time.

"**No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."**

Hermione gasped at this, coming very close to tearing up. Ron looked at her strangely, but she wasn't about to tell him how scandalized the very idea of burning a Hogwarts acceptance letter was. Unlike anybody who grew up knowing that their letter was coming, her letter had opened up her mind to the fact that she wasn't crazy or strange (as the kids in her grade school liked to tell her), but she was quite exceptional when all was said and done. Had she not thought people would laugh at her, she would have framed the letter to preserve it, but as it was she merely kept it neatly folded and tucked in to the inner cover of her most treasured book.

"**It was **_**not**_** a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."**

"I suppose we should be glad Harry was able to label anything in that house as 'his', even if it is a pitiful excuse for personal space." Sirius mumbled to himself, though Remus couldn't help but overhear and agree silently with a nod.

"**SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.**

Ron tried his hardest, but couldn't repress a slight shudder at that, his scalp tingling unpleasantly at just the thought of spiders crawling all over it. The twins, of course, noticed this and sent him a wickedly mischievous grin, though they again refrained from pointing it out to everyone in the room, still feeling oddly magnanimous after hearing what Harry had been put through.

**He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

"That wouldn't be the only painful thing about you if I had my way." Remus noticed that Sirius was mumbling to himself again, but as long as it stayed in the realm of 'if' and didn't move to 'when', he wouldn't say anything.

"**Er- yes, Harry – about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking...you're really getting a bit big for it...we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."**

Hearing this, Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose, mentally preparing herself for what the others would surely have to say about this. She had personally moved on from surprise quite awhile ago, and was merely imagining each new revelation in her head as if it were another nail in the Dursley's coffin to make her feel better and to siphon off her own feeling of impotence at the situation.

To her surprise, nobody said anything, though groans of incredulity could be heard from various teens. She simply chalked it up to everyone becoming emotionally strung out and unable to muster up any more energy in complaining. Indeed, everyone looked exhausted as well; the two Weasley parents were slumped on their couch, listening but doing little else at this point while all the students had seemed to move closer and closer together (as much as the separate couches allowed) as the chapter went on, as if trying to absorb comfort from each other. Sirius, Remus, Bill, and Severus were all coping in their own way, not surprisingly, though they did appear to be wearing around the edges—some more so than others.

"**Why?" said Harry.**

"_Now_ you decide to start asking and standing up to them, Harry? Really?" Bill interrupted himself, simply too overwhelmed with information to stop whatever thought came to his mind from spilling out. Yes, he had wanted to learn more about the boy his younger siblings couldn't go more than a few sentences without mentioning, but now he was wondering if he really knew what he had gotten himself into.

"**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now!"**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into Dudley's first bedroom.**

"Well, what do you expect, when you buy him more than twenty presents every time the occasion calls for it?" Arthur spoke up for the first time in awhile. He knew the Burrow wasn't the barest or cleanest of places, but their family hadn't gone so far as to need room for overflow, and they were eleven people under one roof, at one point.

**It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard into his room.**

"Surely, that has to be a mistake?" Remus asked hopefully, to no one in particular. He didn't receive an answer, but his comment at least seemed to have brought the twin's somewhat out of their funk.

"Umm…you do know there isn't any Shirley in here, right?" Fred asked worriedly, while George began to scan the room as if trying to spot someone hiding from the group. To their disappointment, the joke fell slightly flat, as no one else seemed to want to be cheered up, though Remus did give them a wan smile and a nod of appreciation for trying.

**He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. the month-old cine-camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over next door's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favourite programme had been cancelled; there was a large birdcage which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air-rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.**

"Why keep any of it then? It's not like Dudley's intent on fixing or using it all again, it seems." Neville was still unfortunately quite confused. Not only did Harry's relatives appear to fall into every negative stereotype a Muggle could have, but even beyond that, they didn't seem to think like any sane or logical person he'd ever met.

Hearing his dorm mates' comment, Ron leaned over to Hermione and grumbled, "I bet they didn't clean it out on purpose to torture Harry that much more." His friend shook her head sadly, but didn't disagree with that assessment of the Dursleys' characters.

**Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

"Yeah, well, the stupid kid can't count, why would you expect him to be able to read?" Sirius muttered, his arms crossed so tightly Remus wouldn't be surprised if his friend could clasp his hands behind his back.

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother: "I don't want him in there ... I **_**need**_** that room ... make him get out ..."**

It was probably sad, Remus noted while surveying the room one more time, that everyone seemed to find this so typical of Harry's cousin they didn't even bother commenting anymore.

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

It didn't take Hermione by surprise that she was getting close to tears again, especially since she once again knew how Harry felt better than anyone else, probably. That didn't mean she was going to let anyone else know how close she was coming to breaking down, however, she thought to herself as she violently shook herself and tried to sit up straighter without anyone noticing. With all the teens having pushed into one large group, however, this was a little difficult, and Ginny and Luna were the ones who ended up looking at her a little curiously as she shifted around in her seat.

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof and he still didn't have his room back.**

Fred gulped. He might be responsible for Ron's fear of spiders—and a lot else besides that—but neither George nor himself would have ever pushed their parents that far. He fancied that had they been in the Muggles' position, his mother might have just thrown _him_ in the cupboard instead.

**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall.**

"Hindsight is 20/20, Mr. Potter. At least the Muggles were correct about that, in a sense." Minerva couldn't help but say. She just wished that lesson had stuck with the boy more than the 'no questions' and 'stay out of the way' lessons had.

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the post arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smeltings stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive -"**

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him,**

Severus was truly surprised at how desperate Vernon seemed to be, not only in trying to keep whatever knowledge he thought the letter contained from the Potter boy, but also at keeping it as far from his own family as possible. He couldn't decide if this was better or worse, however, as Severus' own father probably would have been vindictive enough to let a fellow child torturer know in order to fan the flames of his own son's humiliation. Luckily, his father had never had the fortune of raising any other children, muggle or otherwise.

**which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind.**

The room was suddenly and inexplicably (for the majority) filled with uncontrollable giggles coming from none other than Ron and Hermione. They were so caught up in imagining that it had been Vernon Dursley and not a Troll they had fought that Halloween that they didn't even notice the odd glances being sent their way for almost a whole minute. When they had finally calmed down enough to see that no one else found this funny, they just shrugged mysteriously, and Ron said,

"You'll see." This just caused Ginny to roll her eyes and snort.

"You two have been hanging out with Harry too long. I hate it when he does that, and then never explains how he was able to figure whatever it was out before the rest of us." Rather than being insulted or annoyed into explaining (as she had hoped), the present two-thirds of the infamous trio just smiled reminiscently, their faces glazing over one more time. Shaking his head at the lack of information, Bill simply sighed and kept reading.

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smeltings stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand. **

"**Go to your cupboard - I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. " Dudley - go - just go."**

**Harry walked round and round his room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

If he hadn't been who he was, Severus probably would have broken out in the same kind of laughter the teens had just finished with. As it was, he simply resorted to a sharp smile and pointed stare at the two remaining Marauders. The two men in question were grimacing, clearly thinking along the same lines; James' track record with all of his self-claimed 'brilliant schemes' wasn't the greatest. There was a reason they had ended up in Detention one-quarter of the time they played pranks, and it wasn't Wormtail's fault.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning.**

"Wait, how did the clock get repaired?" Arthur asked. If there was anything more fascinating than muggle objects, it was broken or repaired muggle objects that somehow still held the same properties they had before. That was one reason Arthur had tinkered so much with the Ford Anglia; he wanted to see how much he could change before it didn't act like a car anymore, and he still hadn't found his answer, thanks to his youngest son and friend. Luna looked strangely around at the confused faces.

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" She said. Clearly, it wasn't obvious, so she elaborated. "Harry fixed it." Still not getting the response she was looking for, she kept going. "Harry always notices the little things that others don't, so fixing something with little parts that are important is probably really easy for him." A look of comprehension came over Hermione's face, though everyone else still looked skeptical, especially Severus—potions, after all, required a good amount of concentration on little details, and Potter stunk at that.

**Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall towards the front door -**

**"AAAAARRRGH!"**

**Harry leapt into the air - he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat - something alive!**

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realised that the big squashy something had been his uncle's face. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do.**

"Why is it that Dursley only has strokes of mediocre intelligence when it comes to persecuting Harry?" Sirius was starting to move past anger and frustration and into bitter, making Remus more nervous that the Animagus would start hiding from everyone by brooding up in his mother's bedroom with Buckbeak.

**He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen, and by the time he got back, the post had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

**"I want - "**

"Tsk tsk, Harry! If you keep that up, you'll be mistaken for Dudley." Ginny said with a smirk more appropriate for one of the twins.

**He began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.**

Severus started gritting his teeth in agitation; for once grateful he had never actually indulged in the urge to rip up Potter's pathetic excuse for homework in front of him and the rest of the boy's classmates. Sometimes, though, Potter could just be so damn frustrating, acting like he had no idea his work was less than acceptable, as if he wasn't purposely trying to make of fool of Severus.

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail-slot. **

"**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver, they'll just give up."**

**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

"Too little, too late Petunia. Common sense doesn't work only when it's convenient." Minerva sniffed, unknowingly echoing Severus' and Remus' own thoughts on the matter. Sirius simply scoffed bitterly.

"I don't think she's doing that out of regret, it's more likely she's just trying to save her own neck.'

"You would know from experience, wouldn't you Black?" Rather like his Animagus form, Sirius practically started growling at his Slytherin counterpart, but Remus and Minerva were quick to stop both men before more sparks flew.

**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruit cake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

"Strange is a matter of opinion, I suppose," Hermione said lowly, looking askance at Luna, who had her wand stuck behind one ear and had gone back to petting Hedwig soothingly. It seemed like the mention of Harry's trouble with his mail was aggravating the owl (she had personally never let Harry down on a delivery, as everyone well knew).

**On Friday, no fewer than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the letter-box they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

Remus frowned suddenly.

"Minerva, I know you said you only signed the inner letters, but didn't you think it strange that for four days in a row you had to keep signing an increasing amount? I would have thought that that indicated there was some sort of problem." This comment caused a frown to form on Minerva's face as well, though there was a fierce undertone in her eyes that indicated she was quickly tiring of once again having her integrity questioned.

"As a matter of fact, Remus, I only signed one letter for each student that year. I don't know all the details, but from what Albus has told me, the house elves that monitor the records room know a handy duplication spell for just such times, and if I'm not mistaken, they keep a copy of each original letter on file as well. As such, I really have no idea how many letters might have been sent to Mr. Potter before Albus decided to step in, and he has never shared that information with me." This seemed to satisfy most people's curiosity on the matter, and they glanced back at Bill, who took the cue to keep going.

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed 'Tiptoe through the Tulips' as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

George shared a look with his twin, whispering, "And here we thought we had cornered the market on driving people off their rockers."

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand.**

Bill snorted to himself as he read this, thinking; _began? Is it really that normal for the Dursleys that it took Harry more than a week to notice something strange in their behavior and all the letters he's being sent?_

**Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living-room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

Arthur was shaking her head, thinking again about all the poor muggle employees that would either face problems at work because they were essentially used as carriers and pawns by wizards without any thought to the repercussions.

**"Who on earth wants to talk to **_**you**_** this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

Bill paused here because he and all his brothers had started laughing when Ginny had tried to slump down in her seat inconspicuously. Needless to say, it didn't work.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.**

**"No post on Sunday's," he reminded them happily as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today -"**

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets.**

Hermione smiled slightly, and said under her breath, "That's what you get for not knocking on wood." Unfortunately, Neville heard her, and gave her one of the strangest glances, looking like he was worried she was going to break out in giggles unexplainably like the Weasleys had just finished doing.

**The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one - **

**"Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**

Most people winced, feeling that this 'casual' violence Vernon displayed was too much effort to explode over every time it was mentioned.

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**

**"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes, ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. **

**Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding towards the motorway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head**

At this, Sirius, Remus, Minerva, and—reluctantly—Severus—all shared a significant glance. Minerva had said that they couldn't do anything without solid proof of abuse, but the fact that Dursley could be pushed to violence with his own doted-upon son wasn't very promising. A subtle head shake from Minerva told Sirius, however, that it still wasn't proof enough and he sagged back in his seat, wondering why he had ever wanted to know about Harry's life.

**for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, video and computer in his sports bag.** **They drove. And they drove.** **Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turning and drive in the opposite direction for a while.**

**"Shake 'em off ... shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.** **They didn't stop to eat or drink all day.**

Molly was so shocked she couldn't find her voice. As her eldest son continued describing Vernon's crazy attempt to get away from Harry's world, she wasn't sure how Albus had ever pulled it off in the first place, and how Harry had ever been welcome back in their house afterwards. Yes, she had heard the poor boy say he hated it there, and that his relatives hated him, but she had chalked it up to prepubescent melodrama, not anything so grimly concrete.

**By nightfall Dudley was howling. ** **He'd never had such a bad day in his life.**

"Wonder what he would say if he and Harry ever had to switch places for a day?" Ron thought aloud, imagining Harry's fat cousin trying to deal with all the bad days his friend had had over the years.

**He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

Arthur was so distracted with what Harry had to put up with, he didn't even think to ask Hermione what in the world an 'aleen' was and how a computer (which he understood to be an electronic box of some sort) could kill one.

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the window-sill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering...**

"That's not healthy, the poor boy could use al the sleep he can get." Molly fussed, finally finding her voice, but not—as most of her children were expecting—in order to yell at someone for Harry's situation.

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day.**

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Ginny interrupted him before he could get a word out.

"Yes, yes, Ron, we know you're hungry. Mum said we could have dinner after this chapter, so there's no point in complaining, we must be almost done…right?" this last question was directed at Bill, who nodded while flipping through the book. Rather than pacify her brother, though, this just got Ron angry.

"For your information, Ginny, that wasn't what I was going to say. I've actually lost my appetite hearing about that pitiful excuse for a meal." This didn't garner the response he was hoping for, though, as people still started chuckling and shaking their heads.

**They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."**

Bill raised his eyebrows.

"A hundred? How is it that Harry's probably been sent over two hundred letters in total so far, and yet he _still_ hasn't even gotten past reading the envelope?" Hermione and Ron were once again shaking their heads while sharing another glance, but when they noticed Bill's expectant stare, Hermione elaborated.

"It's just like Harry's luck to have the Dursleys be hyper-vigilant right when he most needs them to remain oblivious and in denial." As this couldn't be argued, there was nothing else to say, though Bill still didn't quite understand what luck had to do with anything.

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**Mr. H. Potter  
>Room 17<br>Railview Hotel  
>Cokeworth<strong>

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon quickly, standing up quickly and following her from the dining-room.**

Neville's eyebrows scrunched together at this.

"Wouldn't the woman at the desk know his name wasn't Harry Potter? I thought you always had to give our name when you stayed at an inn or something?"

"Maybe she's just an idiot, Neville." George said consolingly, though that wasn't the point the younger Gryffindor had been trying to make at all.

**"Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge and at the top of a multi-story parking garage.**

_And no one's called the cops because this man was acting odd? _Hermione thought, incredulous once again at the lengths people would go to ignore something they didn't want to get involved in.

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car and disappeared.**

"Is that to keep his family in, or to keep others out?" Sirius asked Remus, unsure which answer he would prefer.

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled.**

**"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television."**

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday - and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of television - then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**

"What a way to celebrate your birthday, on the run with your crazy relatives from the only people who have ever shown an interest in talking to you." Ron's comment was followed by a lot of grimaces, as those who had gotten excited about Harry's birthday were deflated by the succinct analysis of the situation. Neville, however, somehow saw the positive in all of this.

"At ;east he's not locked in a cupboard because he did something unnatural, like Dudley's birthday."

"And maybe he'll finally get his letter, too. I mean, whoever keeps telling the house elves to send them out has _got_ to be reaching their breaking point, and will probably just show up and deliver it personally." Ginny added her two cents in now. "Do we know who finally did get Harry his letter? Professor?" She looked towards Minerva, knowing that the Strict woman had gone to visit Hermione, and thinking that she had done the same in this case. The transfiguration professor, however, shook her head negatively. "Was it Professor Dumbledore himself?"

Looking around the room, no one seemed to know the answer, though Ron appeared to be stifling laughter, which was attracting a lot of attention. He knew who had visited Harry; it was one of the more memorable things Harry had described on their first train ride, but he wasn't about to spoil the surprise for everyone else.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun -last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat-hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.**

"You mean they didn't just pretend that he didn't have a birthday?" Many of the adults had their eyebrows up at that while the teens seemed more focused on the fact that the presents Harry had received were—to put it mildly—terrible. Severus was as surprised as everyone else, but he thought he knew the reason behind it, unlike the rest of the adults. He figured Petunia had her limits in ignoring t Lily's legacy, and he could even tell from this chapter that her resolve on the matter wasn't as strong as she liked Vernon to think.

**Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

"Actually, Harry, you're eleven for three-hundred-sixty-five days." Luna said very earnestly, and no one had the heart to say anything to her about talking to a book—mostly because Hedwig had a very steely look in her eye again and seemed to be quite taken with the blonde girl.

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out to sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

"There's probably not much of anything in there!" Molly said, worried about the total lack of sense Vernon was showing with the well-being of Harry, let alone his own family.

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowing boat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

"Crazies do always have a tendency to find each other, don't they, Sirius." Remus said, trying to lighten his friend's mood. But the convict seemed to have put up a mental wall or something and acted as if he didn't even hear the werewolf.

**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces.**

Hearing this, Ginny couldn't help but be reminded of how Colin Creevy's younger brother Dennis had described his first year trip to the castle across the lake, and she winced in sympathy with both boys' experiences.

**After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house**.

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls and the fire-place was damp and empty.**

"I wouldn't be surprised if they all ended up catching their deaths from cold," Molly chided, fretting again about Harry's health. She remembered the little slip of a boy that had asked her how to get on Platform 9 ¾ all those years ago, and still couldn't believe he still couldn't keep any weight on his bones.

**There were only two rooms.** **Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a packet of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.**

"**Could do with some of those letters now eh?" he said cheerfully.**

"I don't suppose psychological torture counts as evidence of abuse, does it Minerva?" Sirius managed to grind out between his clenched jaws. "Otherwise, I suppose Albus would've fired that git a long time ago." He jerked his head towards Severus, who simply sneered back at him, not saying anything solely because Minerva was sending both men a quelling look.

She was not willing to talk about all the issues involved with retrieving Harry in front of his friends because she knew they wouldn't care about legal details and would continue to argue until she was forced to compromise on her judgment one way or the other.

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver post. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

"Because he had so many reasons to be cheery in the first place," Hermione muttered, half hoping she never had to meet these unpleasant people, and half-hoping she did just so she could expel a little of her anger at them.

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows.** **Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa.**

"That should make you feel better, Black." Severus spoke up, his voice filled with contempt (mostly at Harry's situation, but he wasn't going to tell Sirius that). "Potter's used to squalor, so there's no reason he would reject you for living in this despicable hovel."

Rather than incite an argument to vent some of his tension like he had hoped, Severus' words simply made Sirius shrug noncommittally as he looked around the room they were occupying. In truth, the Slytherin's words were actually somewhat comforting, because unbeknownst to most of the people in the room—save Remus, of course, who usually knew what Sirius was thinking before he did himself—that was one of the things he had been most worried about as the summer progressed.

**She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could find and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

The tension in the room was thickening with every sentence Bill read. Quite frankly, he was thinking he'd never volunteer to read again, the way this chapter was going; he was really getting tired of proving himself wrong every time he thought there couldn't be anything worse than what they had already heard.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep.**

"I don't blame you," Neville practically whispered, still shocked that Harry had seemingly put this whole experience behind him when he got to Hogwarts. He knew from experience how hard it was to un-learn habits that had served you well but weren't necessarily useful in 'normal' society.

**He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter-writer was now.**

"Well, considering it was a house-elf, I'd bet they're in Hogwarts." Fred sniggered to his twin, who shook his head comically, as if he wouldn't dare agree to such a risky wager. While some might have thought they didn't understand the severity of the situation, they would have been wrong. The twin's were as upset as anyone else over Harry's pre-Hogwarts life; they just simply released their tension by 'ignoring' it and cracking jokes rather than wallowing in terrible feelings.

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although it might be warmer if it did.**

"Where he got that odd sense of practicality, I'll never know." Remus said to Sirius, shaking his head from somewhere between confusion and humor. "It's not like James or Lily were ever able to keep their heads while knee-deep in their own issues."

To Remus' relief, this comment made Sirius smile ever so slightly, though he was still looking two steps away from either punching something or storming out again.

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.** **Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that?**

"Harry must compensate for his terrible eyesight with his extraordinary hearing." Hermione leaned over and said to Ron, who nodded thoughtfully. Though they had both been a little distracted at the time, they were now thinking back to when they were on their way to getting the Stone and Harry had correctly said he could hear the _wings_ on the keys before they had even opened the door to the room they were flying around in.

**And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

Minerva suddenly grimaced, thinking that Albus probably could have planned this whole confrontation out a little better, so as to decrease the shock the Dursleys would receive. _Then again, _she thought, _maybe Albus was indulging in his theatrical side and wanted to give those people a little sense of drama_. She honestly wouldn't put it past the eccentric man to do just that.

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds ... twenty ... ten - nine - maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him -** **three...two...one...**

**BOOM.**

No one jumped, but some were more surprised than others at what Bill had just read. He didn't give any of them time to say anything, however, as he had noticed how little was left in the chapter and plowed ahead, grateful to finally be done with it all.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

Bill practically slammed the book shut upon finishing the chapter and as good as threw it away from him onto on of the side tables, then slumped back in his chair while taking a few calming deep breaths.

Everyone else just stared at him, aware that while the chapter was over, there was once again a lingering sense of tension in the air that they knew would probably need to be talked through at some point. They were all too wrung-out at the moment, however, so Molly took charge, putting on a clearly false bright smile and clapping her hands.

"All right, then, you lot! Who wants some supper?"

Eager to remove them selves from all the tension, many of the teens fairly jumped out of their seats at this, while Sirius and Remus lead the way out of the library and down to the kitchen. In a matter of minutes, Luna and Hedwig were the only people left in the room. The blonde girl was feeding Hedwig some owl treats, but when she realized no one else was left in the room, she pulled out a quill and some parchment and spent the next few minutes writing some sort of note, with Hedwig looking on curiously.

Just as the Ravenclaw was opening a window for Hedwig to take off, footsteps could be heard on the stairs, and Ginny popped her head through the door.

"Hey Luna, is everything all right? You're going to miss getting anything to eat if you don't hurry up." She looked curiously at the girl who had turned from watching the owl fly away and was now walking towards the door.

"Sorry, Ginny, I just thought Hedwig might like to have some dinner as well, while we're all taking a break." And with that the two girls left the Library and headed towards the noisy sounds of a Weasley-style dinner.


	7. When they read SS4

**AN: Hello all! I've finally waded my way through another chapter, and you all have gotten me past 20 reviews, and over 4,000 hits! ^_^ Thanks must go to _ColleenMickeyD _ for being number 20!**

**Anyway, I wanted to apologize for taking so long, and for being so snippy in my last author's note...there was no reason for that and I felt really bad after I published it and read back over it, but I'm back to my good mood, I've brought another chapter, and I hope you all keep enjoying the ride! I know it's been over a month, but I think now that I'm almost done with summer classes and the chapters get less depressingly dursley-ish, things will look up, though I won't promise anything past aiming for monthly updates at this point, sorry. Also, the last third or so of this chapter was not proof read by my beta/sister, so if there are any huge errors, or you don't agree with how i made someone act, or anything that seems out of character for my story, let me know, please. I'm aiming for quality over quantity (hence why it takes so long), so I'm always open for suggestions, as long as it has nothing to do with bringing Harry in, because that's kinda set in stone.  
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**Also, please, please, please check out the poll on my profile! I've only got two responses, and I'd really like some more feedback for the idea.  
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**Without further ado...  
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, not even a pretend Hogwarts letter...that belongs to my sister :(

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><p>Dinner that night was surprisingly typical for Grimmauld Place. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement to not mention all the issues that had been brought up by the books; even the most stubborn of people (namely Sirius) had realized the conversation would continue to go in circles and everyone else was simply tired of talking about such a dismal topic. Rather, Hermione was the center of the conversation as Arthur had her going into as much detail as she could on as many of the muggle items he could remember being mentioned.<p>

Predictably, everyone was done eating before Arthur's curiosity had been sated, and Molly had to all but drag her husband away from the table when the teens started getting antsy about getting back to the book. Finally, everyone was once again settled back in their seats in the Library, and it was Luna who picked up the book.

"Would I be able to read the next chapter, Professors?" She asked, looking towards Minerva and Severus, who had somehow become the final voices in any decision. At the Gryffindor Head's nod, she opened the book to the fourth chapter and began.

"**Chapter 4: The Keeper of the Keys"**

Before she could even start on the chapter proper, Sirius was interrupting her.

"Albus sent Hagrid? Again?" He looked completely flummoxed at his former Headmaster's thought process, and he wasn't the only one.

"I know Hagrid always has the best of intentions, but when dealing with Muggles blunt isn't always the best policy, especially with these stubborn Dursleys." Arthur added, patting Molly's shoulder soothingly when it looked like she would say something less-than-complimentary about the half-giant. As the adults continued to look questioningly at each other, a chuckling Neville leaned over to Ron and Hermione.

"Well, now I understand why Harry never had a problem befriending you two." Ginny—having heard his comment—started laughing at the insulted looks on the two other Gryffindors' faces.

"Oh come on, he's right you know. Ron, you have as much tact as a lion has scales, and Hermione I heard stories about you from your first year, and you have to admit you were little better than Ron when it came to talking to people."

Not having any good arguments against this, Hermione blushed abashedly while Ron glared at his younger sister. They were prevented from getting further into it, however, when Luna started reading again without any warning, clearly deciding for herself that the confused murmurs from everyone weren't getting them anywhere.

**BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.**

"**Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"I hate to admit it, but with Hagrid knocking, he's not actually that far off," George muttered to his twin who simply grimaced in sympathy at having to side with Harry's cousin.

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands**

Hermione suddenly paled with a gasp. Ron looked at her in concern.

"Are you okay, Hermione? Is a riffle a bad thing?" His friend shook her head, but before she could answer him, Severus of all people spoke up.

"Yes Mr. Weasley, in this case, Dursley having a _rifle_ is a very bad thing." The Potions professor looked especially grim as he was talking. He had lived with a man who had very well known anger issues—though luckily his father had never been pushed far enough to buy a firearm—and didn't want to think about the reasons behind Vernon's impromptu purchase. Considering how the situation had changed, he was actually almost glad Albus had sent the large man.

**- now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

"**Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you – I'm armed!"**

Sirius was as concerned as anyone else about the fact that Harry's uncle had brought a gun with him, but taking comfort in the fact that Harry clearly didn't have any bullet holes in him four years later, he focused on something else entirely about the situation.

"Why does he think having a weapon would intimidate people who sent Harry letters in eggs? I think I'm insulted by how little credit Dursley is giving us." This of course simply made many of the adults shake their heads at both the ridiculousness of Vernon and the ridiculousness of Sirius' comment.

**There was a pause. Then - **

**SMASH!**

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.** **A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.** **The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling.**

"What an impressive image that brings up, when you add in the storm raging on behind him," Hermione said, wondering why Harry had never gone into that much detail about this whole night, not knowing that he had on the train with Ron that same year.

Minerva silently agreed with her top student, confirming her suspicions from the previous chapter about Albus liking his drama.

**He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

"**Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."**

The twins sniggered at this, though to their dismay no one else joined in. There was still too much tension left over from the last chapter for the rest of the room to let go of their concern that quickly, though if Hagrid kept it up, they were sure the rest of the readers would eventually give in.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

"**Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

Hermione now started snickering, and between chuckles Ron was able to catch a few words, though they did nothing to lessen his confusion.

"It's like….poorly…put together….Matryoshka….dolls!" (**_AN: Russian Nesting Dolls for those not familiar with the term_**)

"**An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

"**Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant.**

Molly put a hand to her forehead, shaking both slightly, muttering under her breath.

"Not even a proper hello, Hagrid, what were you thinking! You probably scared the poor boy out of his mind…"

"Now, now, Molly. Maybe Hagrid was trying to make Harry more comfortable by saying they'd met before." Arthur soothed. His comment, however, simply had Remus, Sirius, and even Severus looking at him skeptically.

"You would really find it comforting if a giant stranger had just broken into what's basically considered your bedroom at the time and said he'd known you when you were a baby?"

Remus just had to ask the older man, not quite at full-blown concern over the man's idea of 'child safety', but definitely getting worried. Hearing it put that way, Arthur blushed.

"Well, n-no I wouldn't say that exactly, but—"

"It's okay, dad, we knew what you meant." Bill interrupted his flustered father with a smile, though he sent a warning glare towards Harry's pseudo-guardians. He understood they were concerned about their late friends' son, but that was no reason to snap, growl, and tear into everyone else in the room, especially not the curse-breaker's parents.

The staring contest was broken, however, when Severus suddenly huffed quite loudly—for him—in response to a vicious elbow from Minerva. Apparently, the dark haired professor had been talking to himself, and the stern Head sitting next to him hadn't taken kindly to what he was saying.

This strange scene was interrupted too, however, when—in almost a perfect imitation—Ron's muffled laughing was interrupted by an elbow from Hermione. This of course made Sirius chuckle, though he was interrupted rudely by Remus' elbow—secretly trying to see who would fall victim to the chain next if he did, but pretending that Sirius was really irritating him—which got the twins started, though unfortunately for Ginny (the unspoken 'censor' for the two older boys), she wasn't between them and so could only use one elbow at a time.

Now slightly afraid to start laughing (he _was_ on Ginny's other side, after all), Neville quickly turned to Luna with almost pleading eyes and asked the girl to start reading again. Luckily for him, Luna was getting a little bored with all the elbowing, and complied with the bashful boy's request. Her voice effectively stopped all the shenanigans even while the lighter atmosphere lingered.

**"Yeh look at lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."**

Sirius would have agreed reminiscently at this if he hadn't caught the grimaces from the Gryffindor students.

"What's up with you guys? Jealous of Harry's clearly superior gene pool?"

Ignoring Severus' disbelieving scoff, Fred answered, looking unusually sheepish.

"Well, apparently, that's one of the only things Harry ever hears when meeting new people, and he's getting quite…" He trailed off, clearly trying to think of a good word, and George jumped in.

"…creative…in how he responds when you point it out to him in private. I wouldn't tease him about it anytime soon, if I were you Sirius." By now he and his twin were rubbing the backs of their necks as if remembering something painful. They didn't look like they were going to explain more, so Sirius simply shared an uneasy glance with Remus and didn't press the matter.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

"Probably the most decent thing he's said this entire book." Ron muttered, which earned him a good-natured eye-roll from his best friend.

"**I demand you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

"Says who?" George taunted. "What's to say the creepy old man with the boat didn't give Hagrid keys and a lift too?" His twin simply laughed at his logic, while others looked at the teen with either complete confusion or worry for his sanity.

"Why would Hagrid break down the door if he had a key?" Looking unabashedly and genuinely curious, Luna questioned Fred (not realizing she had mixed the two up, to their delight). Seeing an opportunity, and not being one to pass it on, Fred smiled somewhat evilly at the Ravenclaw, and responded in a 'menacing' voice.

"Why? Well clearly for…" he paused not caring that most of the room was either ignoring him completely or rolling their eyes at his antics. "…dramatic effect!" He suddenly yelled, unknowingly repeating Minerva's earlier thoughts out loud. Instead of startling the blonde as he had planned, however, Luna seemed to take this in stride, which in turn put both the twins off balance.

"Oh, I never thought Hagrid one for theatrics." She simply said, and turned back to the book, completely missing a breathless Ron and Ginny on either side of her laughing at how easily the twin's had been taken down a notch.

"**Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

While Vernon's possession of a weapon had been temporarily forgotten, hearing how Hagrid had effectively put the shotgun out of commission gave the adults (and Hermione) a sense of relief.

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

Severus smirked, thinking about how satisfying that must have been for Harry to hear. While the boy did not appear to be naturally sadistic in any way, he must have appreciated seeing his tormentor in a state of weakness. He knew he had relished it every time his father's imposing image had been compromised in front of him in some way, though he had learned quick enough to not let it show.

"**Anyway – Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here —"**

"That was sweet of him." Molly said, suddenly looking much happier about the half-giant's presence. Having heard plenty about Harry's birthdays from Ron, and having been asked to send food the past year, she was grateful the boy had seen kindness from the beginning when he was introduced to the magical world.

"– **I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

Ginny scrunched her nose up at this, but then her mind caught up with the rest of the sentence.

'Wait…what does he mean _taste_?" Everyone else exchanged glances at this…not wanting to voice the idea that Hagrid had cooked something as one of Harry's first official birthday presents.

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with **_**Happy Birthday Harry **_**written on it in green icing.**

Molly's smile dimmed slightly hearing this, but she refused to let Hagrid's cooking bring down her good mood while Harry was actually being shown something other than contempt or abuse.

Others in the room were not so optimistic, however. Sirius and Ron, especially, had paled upon learning that Hagrid's present was indeed food; being the two largest living stomachs in Grimmauld Place, they were slightly horrified that Hagrid's cooking had been one of the first things Harry had had to deal with when meeting the otherwise pleasant man.

Seeing her friend's face, Hermione leaned over and whispered.

"It's the thought that counts, Ron, so stop looking like Harry's been condemned to death."

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

Everyone had turned to Molly, expecting some sort of comment about the boy's manners again; even Luna had unconsciously paused in her reading. Seeing the stares, and not having planned on saying anything, the Matriarch blushed a little and repeated Hermione's previous statement.

"It's the thought that counts…he intended to say thank you, but honestly, he's an eleven-year-old boy, of course his curiosity would get the better of him." Unused to such logic coming from the mothering figure, most people didn't know how to respond, though Arthur did give his wife a kiss on the side of her head, glad that others were finally seeing the level-headed woman he had married, and not the overbearing guardian they usually saw.

"Figures," Ron leaned over to Ginny with a slight smile on his face, which was mirrored on hers as she nodded. Neville looked confused (again, the poor boy), so Ginny explained.

"Mum's got a soft spot for Harry, so he usually gets away with more than any of us could ever hope to even try."

**The giant chuckled.**

"**True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."** **He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

"Well, that's not really hard, considering Harry's arm was about the size of Hagrid's hand back then." Fred sniggered, along with many of the other teens; all of whom still got a kick out of poking fun at Harry's small stature, considering his emotive personality didn't match at all.

"**What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

Minerva snorted quietly, but continued on with her thought at a more normal volume.

"Yes, Hagrid, because right now is the perfect time for _'tea'_." She said sarcastically, though the smirk she was sporting took all the iron out of the reprimand.

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there.**

"Well, Hagrid, far be it from me to insult your teaching skills ever again. It seems as if you were able to teach the Potter brat something after all, though 'flouting magical law' isn't necessarily a well accepted school topic these days."

Severus was the one now snorting, though like Minerva, his cold tone was undermined by his glittering eyes…but only to those who knew Severus' sense of humor. For anyone who wasn't Minerva or Remus though, they weren't sure if what the Potions Master had said was meant to be funny or if they were missing some subtle, cutting insult the man had barbed his statement with.

**It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as thought he'd sunk into a hot bath.** **The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

"No wonder he never takes that coat off…he could live comfortably just from what he's got in his pockets!"

Neville, never having met Hagrid outside of school, was so amazed he didn't even realize he was speaking out loud until he heard Luna hum quietly next to him while nodding; at which point he noticed—to his embarrassment—that everyone else was looking at him in amused agreement.

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little.**

"I don't blame him," Ron said. Ginny and Hermione looked at him askance as he rubbed his stomach in sympathy, wondering when the red head had decided Harry's cousin had gone from bully to victim. Rolling his eyes, he continued; "Can you imagine how good sausages would taste after only eating a bag of chips and a banana for 'supper'?"

"Ugh, Luna, just keep reading will you? We don't need to hear any more about Ron's food-logic." Ginny groaned with her hands over her eyes, eliciting grins and chuckles from the rest of Ron's siblings.

**Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

"Honestly!" Now it was Hermione letting out an irritated huff.

"The next time Harry mentions his cousin needing a diet, we should just suggest Hagrid live with them, if Vernon's so against getting 'contaminated'. That's the first time he's outright denied his son anything!" Her disdain for the family and their opinions was clear to everyone in the room, though the twins—as usual—looked like they were seriously considering the idea.

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

"**Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."** **He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful,**

Luna interrupted herself here, furrowing her brow.

"I'm sure Harry's cooking is just as good. He shouldn't discount his own talents." Not sure what to say to this (mainly because none of them had ever actually _tried_ Harry's cooking) nobody said anything to the blonde Ravenclaw. Luna didn't seem to notice, however, and calmly started reading again as if nothing had happened.

**but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."** **The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

Molly and Minerva, being the oldest women in the room and familiar with children's manners, both shuddered slightly with grimaces on their faces upon hearing this, while Severus' permanent sneer seemed to edge slightly into the disgusted side. Seeing this, Sirius defiantly spoke up in a highly annoying and cheerful voice while turning to Remus.

"Ahh, it's good to know some things don't change at all over the years, isn't it Moony?"

Not willing to be the catalyst for yet another squabble, Remus simply nodded a little, looking like he would really love to pinch the bridge of his nose, but refraining.

"I suppose so, Sirius…" he sighed, and luckily for him, Luna started reading again, apparently not able to focus on any conversation for more than a minute or so.

"**Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts – yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."**

"**Er – no," said Harry.** **Hagrid looked shocked.**

When it looked like Severus was about to insult the half-giant, Remus intervened.

"Poor Hagrid. I don't think anyone can blame him for not being prepared, considering even after knowing Harry for going on five years, there are still some of us here surprised by the lengths the Dursleys went to keep him ignorant." And while he had successfully kept the man from saying anything too insulting, Remus earned himself a dirty look in the process.

"**Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

Simultaneous sighs came from Harry's two closest friends, who were both shaking their heads in a comically similar fashion. When they noticed a lot of the adults staring they blushed, but it was Neville who spoke up.

"Harry does tend to apologize a lot, doesn't he?" He said, scratching his head. Once again, Hermione and Ron started nodding their head in unison, though this time the female Gryffindor found answered her classmate.

"Yes he does, Neville. That's probably the second most common phrase that comes out of his mouth, right behind 'I'm fine,' of course." Now, the nodding Ron was also chortling in agreement, though the Sirius was looking more grim than amused at this point.

The animagus knew his godson had a few personality quirks that didn't make much sense to him, and were almost completely opposite James' brash, confident persona, but he wondered how much of that was from the boy's own genetics, and how much of it was from how the Dursley's had treated him? Not even Lily had been that self-effacing, though she had been much more humble than James ever managed even at the best of times.

He was brought out of his thoughts at this point by a commotion apparently caused by Ron attempting to tackle the twins because of some comment they had made. By the time everyone had settled back down and Luna had continued to read, Sirius was more than distracted enough to leave his morose thoughts behind.

"_**Sorry?" **_**barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. ** "**It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

Remus' eyebrows were practically in his hair.

"Did Hagrid really not see that people willing to bar themselves in a shack on a rocky island to get away from letters wouldn't actually have the decency to tell Harry about his magical ability?"

"Well, Remus…Hagrid really isn't one to think too much into something he's been told to do, is he? Especially if its Albus asking him a favor, you know not many people push him for information he doesn't give out up front." Arthur answered the werewolf reasonably. Though it wasn't quite what the man had been looking for in an answer, he couldn't deny that it was true; Albus was very selective about what he told people, and Hagrid was never one to dig into situations too far if it didn't seem necessary.

"**All what?" asked Harry.**

"**ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"** **He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

"I hope he left a good impression on them, at least," Sirius muttered, seeming as discontent as Remus about how little Hagrid was prepared for the situation. Ron overheard this comment and suddenly blanched, thinking about how Harry had been locked up the very next summer, and wondering if any of Harry's relatives would be alive after that incident came out.

"**Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy – this boy! - knows nothin' abou' – about ANYTHING?"** **Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

"Of course they're not!" Hermione said, as if in defense of a Harry that wasn't even in the room. "Harry's actually fairly bright when he's not distracted, and I can only imagine how much better he would have been in school if he had grown up somewhere else!" She looked really frustrated and upset by this point, enough that Ginny put an arm around her to try and calm her down.

"Don't worry, Miss Granger," Minerva said in what appeared to be an attempt at a soothing voice, "With parents like Lily and James, none of us expected Mr. Potter to be even slightly mediocre in intelligence." While this elicited a small grin from the girl in question, it also prompted Severus to snort.

With the new insight into his home life (and the unfortunately clear conclusion that he was _not_, in fact, and idiot), the Potions Master felt more justified in his opinion that the boy's lack of skill in his class came from sheer stubbornness and spite—he had sounded too proud in that last sentence to throw away a grade, unless it was on purpose.

However, as prepared as Severus was for a cutting comment from the canine convict, he never got one. Sirius had taken up his muttering again, and this time it was Remus who caught what he was saying.

"Well, I suppose if his grades were acceptable that means the Dursleys didn't make him dumb himself down for their son's benefit, at least."

"**I know **_**some**_** things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

The twins were sniggering to themselves, and when Ginny looked over, she could just make out one of them (she thought it was George, but hadn't been keeping track enough to know for sure who was on which side of the couch) saying,

"Yes, because calling it 'math and stuff' is a sure fire way to prove your smarts, Harry-boy!"

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About **_**our**_** world, I mean. **_**Your**_** world. **_**My **_**world. **_**Yer parents' world."**_

"**What world?"**

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

"If I didn't know better," Ron muttered to Neville and Hermione, "I'd say Harry was just playing dumb to wind Hagrid up, because he seems to be pushing all the right buttons without even trying." Despite making this observation, the red head wasn't sure whether to cringe because of Hagrid's temper or laugh at how oblivious Harry was, and neither of his year mates seemed to know how to react either, because they both looked just as chagrined as him.

"**DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

"**But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're **_**famous.**_** You're **_**famous."**_

"**What? My – my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

"**Yeh don' know...yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his finger through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

"**Yeh don' know what yeh **_**are**_**?" he said finally.**

"Aww, Hagrid, don't go all bewildered on us! Stay angry! I want to hear about the Dursleys cowering some more!" Fred (or so Ginny thought) spoke up in a beseeching voice, making his twin laugh once again, and even Neville cracked a small smile at their antics.

Minerva had regressed back into her stern, worried expression, however, and knew from the dark looks on Remus' Sirius' and Severus' faces that they were all thinking the same thing: Hagrid not being prepared for Harry's lack of knowledge meant that he also wasn't prepared to tell Harry about his history. Indeed, he was not any of their first choices to do so in any case. The Gryffindor head was hoping that Harry's seemingly smooth transition into Gryffindor house at the beginning of the year bode well for the upcoming talk, but was worried that it was another façade that he and his friends had successfully kept up around the adults they seemed determined to keep at arms length.

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

This news earned groans from the majority of the occupants, including the Wealsey parents, to many people's surprise. United in their frustration, however, no one was willing to question the unusual show of anger from either red headed parent.

"**Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him;**

"I think you mean a smarter man, because bravery's got nothing to do with it in this coward's case." One of the Weasley children mumbled, though no one was paying enough attention to figure out which.

**when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

"**You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

"**Kept **_**what**_** from me?" said Harry eagerly.**

Harry's enthusiasm somehow seemed to be seeping from the book and into the Grimmauld Place Library, as everyone seemed to be eagerly anticipating the moment he learned about the Wizarding World. Not even Severus could help himself from concentrating harder on the book in Luna's hand, no matter how little he appreciated the brat's arrival in said world. As such, it was eerily quiet in the room except for the blonde's airy voice for the next paragraph or two.

"**STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.** **Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

"**Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry – yer a wizard."**

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

And if there had been any windows in the Library, the only thing that would have been heard in the present room would have been passing traffic from the street outside. But it wasn't due to anticipation, anymore. No, in fact, it seemed more like everyone was too dumbfounded (and maybe secretly a little disappointed) in how abrupt a confession the whole thing ended up being.

"**I'm a **_**what?**_**" gasped Harry.**

"**A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

"Yes, Hagrid, just give him his letter…don't bother explaining what exactly you mean by 'wizard' or anything." Bill said a little sarcastically, wondering if that was the extent of the excitement from Hagrid's visit. Personally, he had been expecting a little more 'bang', especially from all the stories of Harry he had heard from Ron and the twins.

In contrast to Bill's disillusionment, Hagrid's speech had given Hermione and Minerva somewhat stricken faces as they remembered how much more complicated the while process had been when the muggleborn witch's letter had been delivered. Minerva hadn't even been able to bring up the subject of Hogwarts until after more than an hour of all three Grangers doing their best to poke logic-shaped holes in all of her explanations about magic and its role in all the odd incidents Hermione had experienced increasingly more often over the years. And once again, Minerva was wondering just how well-adjusted her young Gryffindor truly was, despite his appearance of having transitioned easily.

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

_**Dear Mr. Potter,**_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all the necessary books and equipment. Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**_

"Albus really was cutting it close, wasn't he? Was he so sure that Hagrid would be able to get to Harry and get back in touch with Hogwarts in one day?" Sirius said musingly, apparently not really talking to anyone in particular, though it did get people thinking about why this could have been put off for so long.

"Does it really matter, Black?" Severus responded, pulling the other man's attention from where it had been focused off in the distance. "This is a Potter we're talking about; Albus would have allowed him to show up the day classes started without prior word if that's what the boy wished." He rolled his eyes in disgust at how indulgent his old mentor was with such undeserving brats.

"Nonsense Severus, you know that any other student would have been given equal chances and equal leniency in the same situation so please, stop trying to start an argument." Minerva scolded lightly, though her younger colleague heard the censure in her voice nonetheless. As such, he simply shrugged and gestured at Luna to continue.

_**Yours Sincerely,**_

_**Minerva McGonagall,**_

_**Deputy Headmistress.**_

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

Remus chuckled.

"Always practical…just like Lily, even when faced with something absolutely unbelievable." All the adults who had known Harry's mother couldn't help but agree.

"**Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl – a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl**

Hermione put her hands over her eyes in disbelief. Noticing this, and hoping to stop her from saying something out loud, Ron leaned over and whispered to her.

"Don't worry Hermione, you know how Hagrid is about animals; he'd never keep one in his pocket if he thought it would get injured or anything." He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder, and whether it was the sentiment or the clumsy way Ron was trying to reassure her, Hermione was cheered up and sent the red head a smile in response.

– **a long quill, and a roll of parchment.**

**With his tongue between his teeth, he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

Practically everyone in the room had, at one time or another, seen or been sent a note from Hagrid, and as such, the fact that Harry could read his handwriting easily—not to mention while _upside down_—was astonishing.

"Who knew Harry had such hidden talents?" Ginny said bemusedly.

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore,**_

_**Given Harry his letter.**_

_**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.**_

_**Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.**_

_**Hagrid**_

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm.** **Then he came back and sat down as through this was as normal as talking on the telephone.** **Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

Hermione didn't blame him one bit, either. If that was how she had been introduced to Magic, she would more than likely be in a psychiatric ward right now, rather than attending Hogwarts. Secretly, she was beginning to think that maybe the Dursleys alienating him from their own life was one reason why Harry had grabbed onto this new world and life so readily.

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

"**He's not going," he said.**

While many of the adults in the room were catching up with Hermione's musings, Bill was a little confused.

"Hold on…are we just going off the assumption that everyone in that shack unquestioningly agrees with all the seemingly ridiculous stuff Hagrid has just told them, without even a little bit of resistance?" One of Bill's Hogwarts dorm mates had been a Muggleborn, and he could remember it taking the better part of first year for the poor boy to stop needing reassurance that everything wasn't just an elaborate hoax or a dream, so it surprised the curse breaker that someone like Dursley wasn't even putting up a fight.

"It would appear so. Having the man Potter's grown up with not deny the existence of anything Hagrid has so far spoken about is a very persuasive argument for magic's existence—the Dursley's rejection of the unusual non-withstanding." As he had done multiple times already, Severus surprised most of the room by speaking up. As much as the older man had loathed his own father, he could admit to himself now that the way he had reacted to the Marauders in Hogwarts had been the same characteristics of the way his father had acted at home when his authority had been questioned, and he supposed he could be glad that so far Potter had not shown similar signs of picking up his uncle's ill favored mannerisms in the same way.

**Hagrid grunted. **

"**I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**

"**A what?" said Harry, interested.**

"**A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"**We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

Hearing the same phrase come from Vernon for a second chapter in a row, many people had tensed again, though it wasn't nearly so dramatic as when it had been unexpected. Neville still looked pale, though unfortunately for him Hermione noticed.

"Are you alright, Neville?"

The boy in question jumped, having gotten lost in his own thoughts, but nodded in reassurance—a little too quickly for the smart Gryffindor's liking, but she wasn't going to push the issue in front of everyone. Severus himself was also battling his own mind and refusing to sympathize with Potter or wallow in his own self pity. He was focusing so hard on _not_ doing this that he hadn't noticed how much of a stranglehold he had on his chair's armrests. This detail did not go unnoticed by Minerva though, but like Hermione, she wasn't going to bring it up in the present company.

"**You **_**knew?**_**" said Harry. "You **_**knew**_** I'm a – a wizard?"**

"**Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "**_**Knew!**_** Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that – that **_**school**_** – and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was – a freak! - But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

Luna would have continued on after Petunia's tirade had it not been for Neville's semi-quiet "wow," that caught her attention. Looking up from the book, she noticed that nobody seemed to be paying attention at the moment because they were all lost in thought, or having quiet and/or silent conversations. Realizing that some people might get annoyed if she kept reading and they missed something important, she quietly went back to reading to herself, curious as to how long the rest of the chapter was.

Of the rest of the Library occupants, Hermione and Neville were the two students lost in their own thoughts. Both being only children, they were a little shocked at how much jealousy had played a part in Harry's life from something that had happened over twenty years ago.

Hermione especially wondered if that would have happened had she had a sibling, considering she was as muggleborn as Lily had been, and her parents were as proud as Harry's grandparents seemed to have been—according to Petunia, at least. It made her a little sad, too, though. She had sometimes wished she had had a brother or sister when the children at school had been particularly cruel to her, figuring that they would either stick up for her, or comfort her and understand when she got upset. She had begun to see how idealistic this idea had been when she first met the Weasleys—she didn't think any of them could get along for more than 5 minutes in a room together, despite how much they obviously loved each other—and hearing about how the division between muggle and magic had torn petunia and lily apart from the inside made her even more thankful that her wish had never come true.

The red-headed family Hermione's thoughts were dwelling on were in fact having a variety of smaller conversations. Ginny, the twins, and Bill were all sharing silent looks, uncomfortably reminded of some of the times Ron had exploded over the years, and wondering if he was repressing anything more deep-seeded jealousy than what they knew about. Silently, they seemed to come to an agreement; they would see how Ron acted tomorrow through the rest of this book, and if anything troublesome showed up, they would talk to him.

Ron, on the other hand, was completely lost in his own swirling thoughts, realizing that he sometimes sounded exactly like that to Harry whenever he vented his frustrations with his family onto his friend (who patiently listened without judging every time, the red head realized, despite having heard how it tore his own family apart). His thoughts were also directed at the obviously missing family member; Percy. He was not the only one thinking along these lines.

Molly was working herself up into a completely distraught state, worried that this was how Percy had felt and blaming herself for not seeing it sooner, and maybe avoiding him turning away from all of them. Arthur was talking quietly in her ear, attempting to calm her down, though he was not having much luck.

The four other occupants in the room were more concerned with the past at the moment. Minerva, probably being one of the only people in the room who knew about Severus' friendship with Lily, was keeping an eye on her colleague and the two Marauders, waiting to see if she would have to say something to any of them. Severus almost appeared catatonic; he was sitting back in his chair, unmoving and eyes unfocused. His mind, however, was once again dwelling on his childhood memories of Petunia and Lily. He was conflicted; on one hand, he was a staunch believer in the saying 'the sins of the father shall be inherited by the son', and Potter certainly deserved everything he had coming to him. On the other hand, Lily had done nothing wrong in his opinion, so why was Petunia acting like she was a victim? Not wanting to dwell on these unpleasantly troublesome thoughts, Severus just put everything down to petunia's pettiness and started refocusing on what was happening in the present.

Meanwhile, Remus and Sirius were having their own forays into memories. Remus was thinking along the same lines as Neville and Hermione; always having been an only child, he wondered how having another member in the family would have changed things, especially when adding the lycanthropy into the mix. As it was, his home life had always been strained; his parents had loved him but the fear of his condition had also made them keep their distance in some ways, and he could imagine that having a sibling they didn't fear would have created quite a rift.

Sirius, like Ron, was caught up in memories of a jealousy that had been present between him and Regulus. While he did miss his brother fiercely, and wished he knew what had happened to him, he could also not shake the memories of the rivalry they had had as boys, and the betrayal he had felt when his younger brother turned a blind eye while he was left to fend for his own after leaving and being disowned. Being in Grimmauld Place at the moment also wasn't helping anything, and he found himself slowly spiraling back into the depression he had been in for the first two chapters.

Needless to say, there was a very odd quality to the mood while everyone was lost in their own thoughts; not necessarily tense and despondant, but also not sad or sympathetic either. It was Bill and the other Weasley children (besides Ron) who—after silently agreeing to keep an eye on their youngest brother—first roused themselves from their private world and noticed how no one seemed to have taken note of the fact that the reading had been derailed once again. The curse-breaker, after sharing a glance with his siblings, coughed awkwardly, but still managed to get everyone's attention.

"Umm, are we going to keep reading, or should we stop for now?" This was apparently the right thing to say, as the suggestion of stopping in the middle of the chapter put life back into everyone's eyes, and the poor young man almost got trampled by cries of disbelief at his presumption.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry, it was just a suggestion!" He cringed, gesturing towards Luna to start. Unfortunately, the girl was still wrapped up in her silent reading, and had not taken note of the fact that everyone was looking at her, until…

"Hey! That's not fair, you can't just go ahead and read without us, you know!" Ron had nearly yelled directly in her ear, and though he received a very hard slap on the head, and only slightly less severe words from Ginny on his manners, he had successfully gotten the Ravenclaw's attention and she looked up.

"Oh, are you all ready to keep reading?" She blinked innocently, looking around at the others.

"Yes, Ms. Lovegood, if you are ready, we would like to continue now." Minerva said with a barely discernible smile on her face. Without any fuss, Luna turned back to the page they had stopped on, found her spot, and continued.

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

"**Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as – as – **_**abnormal**_** – and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

**Harry had gone very white. **

"If it were anyone other than Harry, I would expect them to be more than just pale at this point," Hermione muttered to Ron, wondering how Harry was always able to take such surprises and revelations with little to no freaking out.

**As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

"I'm just surprised they haven't managed to slip up with their lie until now," Ginny said, but rather than agreeing, she heard a disbelieving snort from the marauders' couch.

"Please! It's got to be easy to not slip up and tell Harry what really happened when you're pretending the people who died don't even exist, and therefore were never brought up around the dinner table!"

"He's right, Ginny," Remus sighed. To his dismay, Sirius' bitterness was coming out again, though he couldn't deny that his friend's observation was correct. "Add in the fact that Harry wasn't allowed to ask questions about anything, let alone his parents, it really is no surprise that they were never caught in the lie."

"**CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**

"**But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

"I hate to say it, but Hagrid's not any better at the moment," Minerva groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "He might as well have just told Harry that there was a whole other story being kept from him, and he was expecting the boy to not ask about it?" Everyone who had previously brought up their worries about Hagrid's diplomacy were now cringing, realizing that there was no way the large man could get out of telling Harry about his tragic past.

Even Severus—who still felt conflicted about how much 'penance' Potter deserved for being the son of James—was sympathetic to a degree. Granted, hearing about Lily's death the way he had was probably more traumatic to the point that it affected how he acted all the time, but still the potions master had been twenty at the time; Potter was only eleven.

"**I never expected this," he said, in a low worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me that there might be trouble getting' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh – but someone's gotta – yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

"**Well, its best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh – mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', its a great myst'ry, parts of it..."**

At this point, it seemed like the entire room had taken a fortifying deep breath, readying themselves to hear—once again—the horrible story that had been outlined in the very first chapter. Remus almost asked Luna if she could skip this part in an effort to save Sirius from his depression, but he figured it would do no good and he would simply be shot down. He also realized that Minerva, at least, would want to hear how Hagrid told the story to Harry, in case she felt Harry was missing pieces, however many years late it would be.

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with a person called – but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows -"**

"**Who?"**

"**Well – I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

"**Why not?"**

"**Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went...bad - As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..."**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

"**Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

Luna was interrupted by a small, almost hysterical-sounding giggle from next to her, and she turned to find Ginny with a very odd expression on her face, though clearly the girl hadn't meant to draw anyone's attention. Seeing that everyone had also turned to look at her with Luna when the blonde girl had stopped reading, she blushed and very nearly hid her face in her hands, trying not to keep giggling.

"Uh, Ginny? Everything alright?" George, sitting the closest to his sister, had—hesitantly—put a hand on her shoulder, sharing a completely bewildered look with Fred. Unfortunately, all he got in response was a quick succession of nods; the kind you only saw when someone was trying to get you to stop asking them questions they were avoiding.

"C'mon Ginny, what's wrong? Do you not want to listen anymore?" Fred asked, as unnerved by his sister's behavior as his twin, not to mention the rest of the room. The red head seemed to be get herself somewhat under control as she again shook her head and actually answered her brother.

"N-no, no, I'm okay George, Fred." She insisted, "I was just thinking about how considerate Harry always is, even when someone is trying to tell him horrible news." Having gotten an answer from her, her brothers backed off, along with everyone else, not knowing that that was only a half-truth.

In reality, that thought had only been the catalyst in Ginny's mind to the memories of the Chamber that had come up again, especially the ones from right after she had woken up to find a blood-drenched Harry trying to comfort _her_, of all things at that moment. She found herself in a similar situation to Sirius now; trying to push off a depression that this book seemed determined to keep pushing her into.

"**Nah – can't spell it. All right – **_**Voldemort.**_**" Hagrid shuddered.**

Though she shuddered as well, many of the adults were surprised to see that Luna had hardly hesitated when saying the Dark Lord's name, though the teens (familiar with Harry's lack of regard for the superstition) didn't appear to notice any difference.

**"Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this – this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Go 'em, too – some were afraid, some just wanted bit o' his power, 'cause he was getting' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches...terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him – an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway."**

"I can only imagine how horrible that was…" Hermione trailed off sadly, thinking about what it would have been like to live in such a dark and uncertain world. Her musing was interrupted by Sirius, whose bitter tone—to Remus' concern—was coming out more than ever now.

"There's no imaging needed, Hermione." He practically laughed callously. "We're basically in the same position right now, only I bet things are going to get a lot worse since the ministry was actually on our side back then." The smart Gryffindor's eyes widened, realizing that the slouched-over man was correct.

"Come now, Sirius, don't go giving them all a fright." Minerva said sternly, trying to snap the man out of his clearly downward spiral. Not getting any sort of response from him, she turned to the students who all looked a little spooked after his pronouncement. "The situation is not nearly as dire as all that, I can assure you." She hesitated at this point, trying to figure out how to reassure them without giving away any important information from the Order. She must have been silent for too long, however, as Luna suddenly spoke up.

"Should I continue, then?"

Knowing that the students would not let it rest at what she had said, but not having any other recourse, Minerva nodded tiredly, hoping the rest of the book would get all their minds off the current situation, rather than constantly bringing the focus back to it.

"**Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch and wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before...probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side."**

All the adults who had met the late Potters had to laugh, snort, or otherwise show their disbelief at this statement—it was simply just that absurd. Even Severus had rolled his eyes; he was fairly confident that had the Dark Lord never heard of the prophecy, he wouldn't know the Potters from Adam.

"**Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em...maybe he just wanted 'em outta they way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' – an' -"**

Luna's voice was once again the only sound in the room, as all the little comments and noises from the others had eventually stopped in deference to the memory of the Potters—again. And, as before, all that was left was a tense and very subdued atmosphere that felt like it was clinging to everything and would take a lot of effort to get rid of.

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

"**Sorry," he said. "But its that sad – knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find – anyway..."**

"**You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then – an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing – he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just like killin' by then.**

"That's not true, is it?" Her voice had been very soft, but everyone still heard Hermione. It was hardly even a question in her mind at this point, especially after the past year; Voldemort would not go to such elaborate lengths to capture and use Harry like he had simply to 'tie up loose ends'. The silence from all the Order members in the room was also answer enough for the female Gryffindor.

"What makes you say that, Hermione?" Remus finally spoke, finally breaking the silence that had met Hermione's words. He was sure the students would make out any lack of answer on their part as confirmation of the adults keeping secrets from them. While this was true, Remus also didn't want them coming to their own, probably incorrect, conclusions. Having been addressed directly, the girl looked at her ex-professor and answered.

"Well, if it were true that Harry wasn't the intended target, why would V-vol-voldemort have come after him almost every year he's been in school? That's a lot of effort for someone not important to his war." The other teenagers were all looking intently at the adults now, silently supporting Hermione's arguments, and hoping they would get some more information. With a sneer, Severus took up the argument.

"Granger, did it ever occur to you that the only reason the Dark lord is so intent on Potter right now is because of what happened that night?" At the slightly baffled look he received (Hermione thought she already explained how it couldn't be that), he continued.

"Who are you to say that Potter was originally just an extra person to be wiped out, but the reason he no longer holds that esteemed role is because the Dark Lord now wants to know why such an insignificant victim changed everything? Whatever the Dark lord's intentions were before that night should not, and cannot, be linked to his intentions now, no matter how much your little conspiracies say so." The Order's spy finished, looking distinctly uninterested in whether or not they all believed him. While he, Albus, and a few others knew that this explanation was completely false due to the prophecy, he would hold up his end of the bargain and not give Albus' hand away so easily. Indeed, while Hermione and the others looked less than convinced that there was nothing particularly special about Harry's role, no one could deny that Severus had made them think, so he gestured to the Ravenclaw, and she continued, reluctantly.

While it may have seemed like the Ravenclaw was only there to enjoy the story, she hadn't been put into the house of clever students for nothing. She had realized quite quickly that the teens and the adults were hiding things from each other, and she was quite curious to figure out why Harry inspired people to go to such lengths to want to protect and/or defend him, especially as it was so counter to the Hogwarts' population's take-it-or-leave-it attitude towards the boy a year older than her.

**But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh – took care of yer mum an' dad, an' yer house, even – but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts – an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before – and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

"That's horrible!" Molly gasped. Having never been around when Harry's scar was acting up, and not being one of the people the boy talked to about these things, she had previously been unaware of how much the boy remembered from that night. Arthur, Bill, the twins, and Ginny were also surprised and not a little bit horrified upon hearing this.

Luna had read ahead and so had gotten her surprise out of the way, though that didn't stop her from feeling sympathetic. After all, she had been p[resent at her mother's death, and had similarly traumatic memories. Neville also was less surprised, but no less sympathetic. While he could not say he remembered when his parents had been attacked, he could understand how torturous knowing even small details of the ordeal were, especially when you were living with the fallout every day.

Hermione and Ron took this in stride, knowing that the recollection was getting worse, though they were not as informed as the Marauders or the Hogwarts professors. They, unlike the rest of the room, knew how Harry not only remembered Voldemort casting the curse, but also the last words of both his parents.

Back in third year when he had told Remus about the memories he heard around Dementors, the then Defense against the Dark Arts professor had gone to Albus with the news, in an attempt to get him or the Ministry to back off with the creatures. Needless to say, that hadn't worked, and instead Albus had told the entire staff—against Remus' better judgment—about why and how the Dementors affected Harry in order to help them all keep a better and closer eye on him. Albus' reason had been for Harry's own safety, but even two years later, Remus still couldn't understand how the knowledge helped at all.

Sirius also knew about this for the simple reason that he had bullied Remus into telling him, after the werewolf had slipped and told him about the Patronus lessons earlier this summer. He more than anyone in the room probably best understood how horrible having Dementors around would feel, and using that argument, he had gotten Remus to spill about why Harry had been so insistent during the lessons.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

"**Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..."**

"**Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

"He's acting like all Hagrid just said was a comment about the weather!" Bill was not the only one thoroughly fed up with the Dursleys at this point. "Do they not have anything even remotely resembling human decency?"

Since there was no one willing to defend the Harry's relatives at this point, the oldest Weasley child never got an answer, though Luna continued quickly enough that no one would have had a chance anyway.

"**Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured – **

She was interrupted not even one whole sentence later by Sirius.

"Wait, read that last part again?" He was sitting up and looking livelier than he had in quite some time so no one argued with him, and Luna went ahead and repeated the line.

"**Probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured –**" She then looked up at him questioningly when he let out a huge sigh and almost seem to melt back into the couch he was on. When no one seemed to share his relief, he explained, a little upset that no one was keeping up.

"You see, if Dursley thought a beating could 'cure'" here he practically spit the word out, "Harry, but doesn't consider him cured _yet_, he must not have tried, right?" By the time he finished, most of the teens looked they agreed with this logic.

"Well, I suppose that would make sense…" Remus was thinking hard, trying not to get caught up in his friend's enthusiasm, but from what he had pieced together, he was pretty sure the Animagus was correct about the physical abuse not actually happening.

What he could see that Sirius couldn't in his euphoria, however, was the fact that a 'good beating' wasn't the only form of physical abuse. This was the man who had just the last chapter gotten so upset he had slapped his own son—not a beating in any sense of the word, but still a form of physical violence against a child. He could tell that Severus at least was thinking along the same lines (he wasn't surprised either, based on his other suspicions), and sent the man a very hard glance when it looked like he would tear into Sirius for not seeing the larger picture.

The grim man actually heeded him for once, to Remus' surprise. Trying not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he turned back to the teens, who for the most part seemed to be as happy about Sirius' epiphany as the man himself.

"Luna, I think you can continue now that Sirius got that out of his system." He smiled at the blonde girl as she nodded and found her place again.

**and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion – as for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types – just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -"**

Yet again, luna only had to read a sentence or two from Vernon, and the whole room's mmod soured. It sounded suspiciously like Sirius had also started growling quietly, though Remus was also murmuring to him under his breath, so no one was sure if they were hearing things correctly.

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat.** **Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley – I'm warning you – one more word..."**

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

"So…Harry's uncle isn't afraid of Hagrid, just his pink umbrella?" Fred asked his twin dubiously.

"I guess," His twin answered. They stared at each other solemnly for a few seconds before George's sober face cracked a grin and he started snickering, with Fred quickly following his brother into quiet hysterics. They quieted quickly, however, when Ginny sent them a glare; clearly the room wasn't ready to lighten up just yet, they thought with identical shrugs.

"**That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

"**But what happened to Vol-, sorry – I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

"**Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see... he was getting' more an' more powerful – why'd he go?"**

**Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on."**

"Well Hagrid got that part right, at least." Ron muttered, thinking about how harry had described the Voldemort living on Quirrel's skull and shivering slightly. He had to admit, while Hagrid might not have known all the details, he was really good at setting a mood, and telling a story, Dursley interruptions notwithstanding.

"** 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on – **_**I**_** dunno what it was, no one does – but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

"And still stumps him, if what Harry says is true." Sirius muttered, having stopped his growling as soon as Hagrid had put Vernon back in his place. He was sure voldemort's obsession with learning about that night was even stronger now, considering what had happened with his and Harry's wands in the graveyard, but Albus hadn't been willing to explain much about it, if he knew anything at all.

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be?**

**He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

Arthur chuckled.

"It would be nice if magic worked like that, wouldn't it?" Almost everyone in the room had to smile at this comment. While it was true that most of them had grown up with magic as a part of their lives, they could remember at one point or another when they were young children trying and wishing for something outside the normal boundaries of their power to occur.

"**Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."** **To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

"**Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it...every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry...chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach...dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back...and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

Hermione was shaking her head again; it really was amazing how little convincing Harry had needed. Even after Professor McGonagall had given the three of them a demonstration, it had taken at least another hour of intense questioning about her accidental magic incidents before she had been more than just skeptical about the whole thing.

Minerva was also surprised; it usually took her at least twice as much explaining to get any of the Muggleborn families to even listen to her spiel about Hogwarts, let alone believe in the existence of a completely hidden culture and population.

"**See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard – you want, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

"**Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish – spell books and wands and -"**

"So not only was he stealing and destroying someone else's mail—which is illegal—" Hermione was beside herself, and though Ron was trying to interrupt her before she started shouting it wasn't working. "He also read Harry's mail? Where does he get the nerve to think he has the right-hmmmph!" Ron had unceremoniously clamped a hand over her mouth since prodding her shoulder hadn't worked. And while he was receiving some very dirty looked from the silenced girl, he had gotten his point across.

"Hermione, you've heard what Dursley's willing to do to keep Harry from even asking questions about his parents, you really think reading his mail is the worst thing he's done?" Reluctantly, Hermione realized that her friend was probably right, and she gave a sigh, indicating to Ron that he could let go of her, and Luna took the opportunity to read on, finally getting a little tired of this chapter, and knowing how little left there was.

"**If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad! His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled-"**

"**I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

As though the scene were being played out in the room rather than being read from a book, many people flinched, imagining what Hagrid's face would look like after that comment. No one was going to say anything, however, until they found out how Vernon paid for his blasphemy.

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER -" he thundered, "-INSULT – ALBUS – DUMBLEDORE – IN – FRONT – OF – ME!" **

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley – there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a shard squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain.**

The twins (and Bill, though he would never admit it) were slightly disappointed. Hagrid's spell must not have been that awesome if there wasn't obviously and immediately wrong with the pudgy boy. Ron, however, suddenly remembered a comment Harry had made once in passing, and his expectant smile never left his face, guessing where this was going better than anyone other than Hermione, who could admit to being slightly satisfied in the comeuppance Harry's childhood tormentor had received.

**When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

Those who had brushed Hagrid's reaction off before suddenly broke out in laughs, realizing what the problem had been, Sirius, Remus, and Arthur included. Molly was looking slightly scandalized, though at the same time if one were to look closely they would probably see some grim approval. Minerva also looked torn; she was a little upset that Hagrid had used magic on a person, especially not having officially gotten past his third year of schooling, but at the same time was trying to suppress a grin that could only be described as catlike. Severus, in contrast to everyone, simply looked unaffected, and even a little displeased, though why that was no one knew.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

His laughs calming down, Bill shook his head.

"Who knew all it took for him to go away was to simply use magic. I know why Hagrid restrained himself up until now, but his whole explanation would have gone a lot smoother if he had started there and then talked to Harry." While Arthur wanted to agree with his son, he felt he had to speak up.

"You know Bill, if they had been anywhere other than some remote and rocky island, Hagrid probably would have gotten in a lot of trouble for that with the Ministry. As it is, I'm surprised no one looked into what was going on, because the ministry is usually so much more diligent when it comes to Harry." This thought sobered up the rest of the teens who had still been laughing about Dudley's fate, though since no one had an explanation for why the ministry hadn't gotten involved they simply let Luna continue.

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

"**Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

_And that_, though Minerva a little angrily, _is exactly why you shouldn't be illegally casting complex transfigurations on humans, Hagrid!_ There were so many ways that could have gone poorly; she was getting a headache just trying not to think about it.

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

"**Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm – er – not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff – one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job -"**

"Why he was offered the job, I still don't know," Severus commented snidely to Minerva, sensing her disapproval and figuring it was less likely she'd snap at him at the moment.

"**Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

"**Oh, well – I was at Hogwarts meself but I – er – got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**

"**Why were you expelled?"**

"Now you're just pushing your luck, Harry," George sniggered, and all the teens who could remember having similar dead-end conversations with the half-giant smiled in agreement.

"**It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."** **He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

"**You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice one o' the pockets."**

"Lovely," Ginny wrinkled her nose at the thought of sleeping under a squirming coat as Luna closed the book and lay it down next to her.

"I take it the chapter is finished, then?" Remus asked as Sirius stood up stiffly and started walking around the room while the rest of the occupants also started restlessly moving around at Luna's nod. They were all glad it was over after sitting through such a long chapter once again, though the mood was still struggling to find a balance between the mirth from Hagrid's antics and the tension and bitterness from Hagrid's story, giving most people a very odd and edgy feeling.

"Shall we retire for the night, then?" Minerva asked, looking at the clock and wondering just how many days this would take, and how long they could keep it quiet from the rest of the Order that dropped by regularly.

"I think that sounds like a good idea." Molly nodded, appearing to get a second wind and turned to the teens. "Ginny, boys, please show Neville and Luna to the bedrooms. I hope you haven't made too much of a mess that they don't have a place to sleep!" Like a sheepdog, she began herding the entire group out into the hall, and the adults could hear her arguing with them all the way up the stairs.

Before they could start their own conversation, however, the flare of floo powder drew all of their attention to the fireplace that Severus had just exited.

"Hmph, can't even give a proper goodbye, let alone a thank you for dealing with him all day," Sirius muttered as he combed a hand through his hair tiredly. Remus just smiled and gave his friend's shoulder a pat.

"I'm just surprised you're both still alive after spending so many hours in the same room." He then turned back to the fireplace where Arthur, Bill, and the Transfiguration professor had congregated

"I suppose you're going to return to Hogwarts too, for the night, Minerva?" At her nod, he went and collected the seven books and brought them over to her. "I hope you don't mind, then, if we ask to bring these with you, again, do you? Even though we're letting them listen, that doesn't mean curious teenagers won't try and read ahead." He finished in a significant tone, and could have sworn he saw something shimmering whip out of sight near the door when he glanced that way.

"Very well, Remus." Minerva took the pile and made ready to activate the floo for herself. "I will see you all tomorrow, then. Good night." With these parting words and one more green flare of light, Sirius, Remus, Arthur and Bill were the only people left in the room. They all looked around in companionable silence for awhile, lost in their own thoughts until Arthur yawned.

"Well, I think that's our cue to retire as well, eh dad?" Bill chuckled as he led the way out of the library and the rest of the men all bid good night as they separated to their own rooms.

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><p><strong>AN: So, what'd ya think? As always, comments, questions, concerns are welcome...I'd even take a flame at this point just to say I've gotten one! I just love feedback that much! Even if you don't review, thanks for reading this far!<br>**

**Toodles!  
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**voice-on-the-wind  
><strong>


	8. When they read ss5

**AN: **...Hello? Anybody still hanging around this graveyard? ...I'm back... I'm also really sorry about the whole falling-off-the-face-of-the-earth thing...why don't we chalk it up to multiple counts of computer failure, family emergencies, college graduating, job hunting, job finding and a massive case of writes block shall we? please forgive me? I come bearing a shiny new chapter for you! I'll even keep this author's note nice and short...all I wanted to say was an infinite number of apologies for the delay, and I will do my best to NOT keep to this schedule from here on out.

Feel free to leave a review, and let me know if this chapter was worth the wait...I probably don't deserve any reviews for holding you in suspense, but I do truly appreciate any honest feedback! see, look! I'm done groveling now! enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything associated with Harry Potter, and J.K. Rowling's books (the stuff in bold), all I own is the memory of sipping butterbeer in Hogsmeade down in Florida.

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><p>Early the next morning Arthur found himself wide awake, pondering the revelations of the previous day. He couldn't believe how much had been hidden about Harry's early years; especially considering how Albus had repeatedly assured many of the house's occupants how close an eye he was keeping on the boy. It broke his heart to think about all those struggles, but he was glad that now they could at least help Harry get out of the situation once and for all.<p>

Realizing that he wouldn't be falling back asleep anytime soon, and knowing that others would begin stirring in a little while, Arthur decided to simply get up and ready for the day ahead. Having received the letter from Albus about Ron's injuries at the end of his first year and hearing the tales his sons had recounted to an excited Ginny, he knew that the rest of the book probably wasn't going to be any less stressful. While he and the rest of the adults could grasp the threat You-Know-Who posed, and many of them had an idea of what the young students had faced, hearing about it from Harry's point of view would most likely reveal situations similar to those that had come up already—things no one would have ever contemplated as a possibility.

He managed to make it out of the bedroom without rousing Molly and carefully navigated the creaking staircases so as not to disturb the rest of the house while heading for the kitchen. He began getting things out to make himself a cup of tea; he noticed that Kreacher (who usually slept under the boiler in the back of the kitchen) wasn't anywhere to be found—again. Sighing to himself, he returned to the task at hand.

When he finally sat down at the table with his steaming mug, he noticed yesterday's_ Daily Prophet_ piled in one corner. With all the new guests and commotion yesterday, he hadn't gotten a chance to really look past the main headlines, so the Weasley patriarch took the opportunity now to catch himself up on the present times, rather than events from four years ago. Soon enough, Remus and Sirius—neither of which had slept any better than they had the previous night—made their way into the basement. Molly also appeared, after waking to find Arthur already gone from their room. She promptly began gathering up everything to make enough breakfast for all twelve people staying there at the moment.

It wasn't until the teenagers started trickling in, however, that the calm silence of the morning was broken by chatter. By the time Molly was placing large platters of eggs, bacon, and sausages on the table, everyone had made it downstairs, and the students had begun comparing what they knew of the school year to what they might learn from the book. Ron and Hermione, knowing pretty much all of what was going to happen next, had the secretive grins from yesterday on their faces, and weren't letting anything slip, despite the twins' leading questions, while Neville was being gently probed by a curious Bill, Ginny, and Luna (the only three people besides the adults to not have been at Hogwarts at the time).

Arthur finally put the paper down and glanced around when his wife nudged him with a plate, indicating that if he didn't serve himself now, he wasn't going to be getting any. Realizing that he was actually quite hungry, Arthur began busying himself with the platters, and when he next looked around, both Minerva and Severus had arrived and were being served tea by Molly. At this point, many of the children were getting antsy, and wanted to begin reading as soon as possible, but Molly insisted that they would not begin until everyone had eaten, and the kitchen put back in order.

Eventually, everyone had eaten to their satisfaction, and the dishes had been cleaned sufficiently despite the increasingly persistent grumbling from the students. The whole group made their way through the house and back to the library once more. And finally, while everyone was settling down, Minerva brought out the object on everyone's thoughts and placed it on one of the tables.

"So, who wants to begin the next chapter?" She asked as she settled into one of the nearby armchairs. Hermione promptly opened her mouth (no doubt to volunteer again), but an elbow accompanied by a whisper from Ron kept her from actually saying anything. Bill also looked like he wanted to read again, but his father beat him to the punch.

"I think I would like to give it ago, if no one minds." Not hearing any disagreements, he looked towards Minerva, who passed the book over with a nod.

Arthur quickly found the right page and began, **"Chapter 5: Diagon Alley."**

"Oh goody! We finally get to see Harry's introduction to the magical world!" Ginny exclaimed, and everybody else perked up just a little more, hoping that things were finally starting to look up.

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.** **_It was a dream, _****he told himself firmly.**

"Of course, Harry would think of that first." Hermione rolled her eyes. She couldn't blame him, however, considering it had also taken her a few days to wrap her head around everything Professor McGonagall had explained.

**_I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards._** **_When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard._**

_Taking a break for the night must have helped somewhat_, Arthur thought absently when many people grimaced but refrained from actually commenting at the mention of the dreaded cupboard.

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.** **_And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, _****Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.** **Tap. Tap. Tap.**

"We all know it's not Petunia knocking, so what _is _making that tapping sound?" Fred asked, scratching his head confusedly. When no answer was forthcoming from anyone, George sighed extravagantly.

"_Obviously_, dear brother, it's some poor creature trying to escape the confines of Hagrid's jacket."

Ginny shivered in distaste. "You realize Harry is sleeping under the jacket you are talking about, right George?" Her brother simply shrugged in indifference, clearly unconcerned for the young boy's plight.

**"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."**

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him.** **The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.**

"Those post owls sure are determined," Remus chuckled lightly. "If Hagrid's not at home to retrieve his paper, they will follow him all the way out to an obscure hut on a rock in the middle of the ocean."

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him.**

"Harry's really excited about that newspaper, isn't he?" Ron snickered while getting a shove from Hermione, who thought it was much too early to start up the shenanigans.

**He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**

"Or they're just determined to get their money one way or another," Sirius snorted, the prospect of leaving the Dursleys behind for this chapter bringing him slightly out of the funk he had fallen into last night.

**"Don't do that."**

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.**

Ginny's eyebrow rose skeptically. "If the owl is smart enough to know where Hagrid keeps his money, he should also be smart enough to know not to bite the hand that pays him."

"He might simply be looking for those dormice," Neville pointed out quietly, while Luna nodded along. He winced slightly when Ginny shivered and shot him a glare. Apparently, she was still a squeamish about Harry possibly sleeping with live animals.

**"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl!"**

**"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

Severus snorted, though it was so quiet only Minerva seemed to hear him. When she turned questioningly, however, all he did was roll his eyes and gesture towards Remus, who was rubbing his forehead and muttering.

"How is he going to know what you're talking about Hagrid? You never even explained Owl Post to him last night when he saw you send Albus a letter…" Clearly, the question of the groundskeeper's capability in introducing Harry to magic was still up in the air for a good number of the adults.

**"What?"**

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets - bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs,** **teabags...**

"Don't forget the mice, owls, probably a lizard or two…" Fred whispered, just loud enough to carry over to Ginny, who was squirming around on the couch as if she were the one with a coat full of creepy crawlers.

"Guys, cut it out," Bill leaned over to his brothers reproachfully. "It's too early to be aggravating people, and as we're going to be stuck in this room all day, please don't make it even more unbearable." He spoke low enough so that their parents wouldn't overhear and start yelling, but the twins got the point and quieted, though they pouted playfully at their eldest brother all the same.

**Finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

**"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

**"Knuts?"**

**"The little bronze ones."**

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.**

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**

**"Best be Off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."**

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

**"Um - Hagrid?"**

**"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**

**"I haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

Arthur was interrupted from his reading by a "Hmmph!" from Molly. She clearly hadn't been expecting anyone to hear her, because she blinked when Arthur turned to her on the couch.

"I just can't believe that poor boy had to spend so many years convinced he was completely dependent on such horrible people." She said defensively. Her husband nodded, patting her consolingly on the shoulder in understanding and turned back to the book, while Sirius' frown began to reappear.

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"**

**"But if their house was destroyed –"**

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy!"**

"Because clearly, Potter is clever enough to discern from your behavior where Muggles and wizards parallel or differ from each other." Severus was rolling his eyes again, though nobody was sure whether he was insulting Harry, Hagrid, or both at the same time. As such, they continued on without responding, though it did little to help with the man's sour disposition.

**"Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."**

"Lovely way to start the day; cold sausage and birthday cake." Bill couldn't seem to decide whether to look amused or appalled at what Hagrid considered 'breakfast'.

**"Wizards have banks?"**

**"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."**

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

**"Goblins?"**

**"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that."**

Nobody seemed to have much patience for the half-giant this morning, because now Sirius was pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke testily.

"Does he think bank robbery is really the first thing on an eleven-year-old's mind when they're told goblins run the only place wizards keep their money?"

"I'm sure Hagrid is simply trying to make conversation with the boy, Sirius. He's not overly fussed about prudence, and tends to just say the first thing to come to his mind. There's no harm in it." Minerva looked around the whole library as she spoke. Yes, she had her hesitations about Albus' decision in this matter, but she knew the groundskeeper had his heart in the right place, and she also knew Harry had shown up to school whole, healthy and with all the proper materials, so there was no need to worry.

"Unless we should be worrying about why bank robbery is the first thing Hagrid thinks about when Gringotts is mentioned." George whispered to his smirking twin under cover of his father resuming his reading.

**"Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you, gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see.**"

"And that trust has never proven to be a mistake."Minerva interceded pointedly, in emphasis of her previous point. "I think it would be wise for all of us to simply enjoy their outing, rather than trying to analyze what we see as mistakes." As no one seemed to disagree with her, Minerva nodded to herself in satisfaction, and made a mental note to provide more coffee next morning so hopefully people were not as irritable.

"**Got everythin'? Come on, then."**

**Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**

**"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.**

**"Flew," said Hagrid.**

"He must have used Thestrals," Luna said, speaking for the first time since they had begun reading that day. Hermione's eyebrows went up at this.

"What sort of animal is large enough to carry Hagrid?" Luna turned to her and blinked.

"Thestrals. They're actually the size of a horse, but since they can fly, they were probably hitched to a carriage and were pulling him-" Hermione's snort of disbelief wasn't loud, but was just unexpected enough to stop the fourth year in her explanation.

"Flying horses pulling Hagrid through the sky? What, are they related to Father Christmas' flying reindeer? And Hagrid just happened to have enough of these creatures hanging around to fly himself to wherever Harry was?" At this point, she dissolved into giggles from her mental picture of Hagrid in a bright red suit and hat flying through the air in a _Cinderella_-esque pumpkin carriage being pulled by ropes attached to nothing. It was clear to everyone in the room that Hermione didn't believe one word of Luna's speculation. Her giggles subsided, however, when she realized no one else found this as amusing as her.

"As a matter of fact, Ms Granger, Ms Lovegood is correct." Minerva spoke, nodding her head towards the Ravenclaw. "Albus keeps a few carriages on hand should he need to leave suddenly, and Hagrid cares for the entire herd, so he would know how to find them if he ever needed." Hermione's face bloomed red as her eyes widened in embarrassment.

"But if Harry didn't see them, where…"

"They are especially clever and independent creatures; Hagrid probably sent them back to Hogwarts after reaching the hut, especially if there was a storm. I doubt he would leave any animal in his care out on a rock during such horrible weather." The Transfiguration professor continued kindly, deciding now was not the time to try and explain all of the creature's complexities, especially the invisible part. "Besides," she finished, "If I'm not mistaken, you were present for the Beauxbatons entrance last year before the tournament, and if they were able to find flying horses, why shouldn't Hagrid be able to as well?" Seeing that she had once again made her point, she settled back in her seat and looked expectantly at Arthur.

As his father began again, Ron leaned over to his friend. "Are you ok, Hermione? You look like you've just failed an exam, or something." Instead of responding to the irritating redhead that couldn't even bother to hide his smirk, Hermione leaned over and quietly apologized to Luna, who brushed off the Gryffindor's embarrassment with a vacant smile.

"Don't worry Hermione, wrackspurts have funny effects on everyone, and this house has its fair share of nests." Not having any sort of response to this, Hermione nodded bemusedly as she sat back and tried to refocus on what Arthur was saying,

**"Flew?"**

**"Yeah - but we'll go back in this."**

** "Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."**

**They settled down in the boat,**

"So how are the Dursleys going to get off the rock?" Luna spoke up again, clearly not affected in the least by Hermione's disdain the last time she had said something. Neville turned to her in astonishment, amazed that he hadn't even thought about that, and now just as curious as the Revenclaw about the answer. After a few seconds—when it was clear no one had a reasonable response—Arthur cleared his throat.

"Well…maybe it explains it later on…" and with that he picked up the chapter where he had left off.

**Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**

Hermione wrinkled her brow in confusion and turned to the person she thought would have the best answer to her question.

"Professor McGonagall?" When the transfiguration professor had turned to her, she continued, "If Hagrid isn't supposed to be doing magic, and Harry has the trace on him, shouldn't the Ministry have detected something like that?" To her surprise, it was Arthur who answered.

"Well, Hermione, while you're correct that technically this is not really within the law, Hagrid is still over the age of majority, and while his wand was broken and confiscated—" He broke off to glance at the couch across the room, where coughing (which sounded suspiciously like laughter) was coming from, but Sirius quieted when he noticed the eyes on him. "Yes, well, while Hagrid is recorded as not being able to perform magic, that doesn't stop him from having the ability, and the Ministry's trace can't differentiate unique magical signatures, apart from 'underage' and 'adult'."

"Also," Now Minerva did speak, adding to Arthur's explanation, "The Ministry keeps itself fairly separate from Hogwarts business, and if Albus mentioned to them that he had sent someone to talk to Mr. Potter, they wouldn't ask too many questions." _At least, back then_, she added silently to herself. She could tell that was also the thought of many adults who had been following the rift between Albus and Cornelius increase all summer.

Hermione didn't miss the increased tension in the room from all the Order members, and while she thought she knew what they were thinking about, she decided not to pursue the thought just now and simply said. "Oh, that makes sense, thank you Mr. Weasley, Professor."

**"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.**

"Well, so much for eleven year olds not thinking about bank robbery." Remus chuckled lightly, attempting to bring the focus of the room back to Harry's trip and away from the politics of the present. He thought it might have worked, too, judging from the small groan Sirius released.

**"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."**

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet.**

"Somehow, that doesn't seem to have worked quite the way Hagrid wanted, I think." Remus was chuckling again; he couldn't help but think how James would have acted the same way to this information, though he probably would have been asking more…_helpful_…questions of the half-giant, as well.

**Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

"Don't worry, Harry; that's more self-control than SOME of us have." Ginny said, elbowing Ron for emphasis, and making Neville and Hermione laugh and nod, to their year mate's chagrin.

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**

**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.**

**"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."**

**"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"**

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

"That's a highly simplified explanation, really…There are so many more things that the Ministry has a hand in…" Arthur had interrupted himself in order to expand on Hagrid's point, though a well-placed cough from Molly, paired with a significant glance, had him returning to the book itself. He felt that as the only Ministry representative in the group, he had to at least attempt to keep their reputation somewhat respectable, especially as he knew many in the Ministry did not actually believe Fudge wholeheartedly.

**"Why?"**

**"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems."**

"Because Dursley definitely seems like a guy who would ask any of us for a _magical _favor." Bill said derisively, a scowl appearing.

Severus was loath to admit it—even in his own mind—but he had to agree with the cynical Weasley boy; Hagrid's opinion on the matter seemed blissfully and optimistically naïve, especially from someone who had seen the ugly side of human nature just this past year.

**"Nah, we're best left alone."**

However much they disagreed with Hagrid's previous, simplified explanation, no one disagreed on this point. Well, except Arthur, of course, who was happy to deal with Muggles on a regular basis.

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.**

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them.**

Hermione suddenly wondered how long it took for Harry's opinion of staring to go from being understandable to completely unsufferable. She had a feeling it wouldn't even take the whole chapter, and sympathized with her friend for the introduction he would probably get in Diagon Alley.

**Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**

Remus winced at this, wishing that Hagrid had tried to be a little more subtle, while Sirius was once again pinching his nose as if he could physically ward off a headache that way. Even Minerva was showing signs of exasperation; her lips had thinned in that indicative way that she had when she'd caught a student misbehaving.

**"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, **

Ron sniggered quietly, and when Hermione turned, he whispered, "You know how tiny Harry was back then, he had trouble simply trying to keep up with us in a crowded corridor at school." He saw Hermione's gaze go unfocused while a smile slowly appeared, and he knew she was picturing the same ridiculous image he was of Hagrid walking with a Harry who needed three steps for every one of the half-giants'.

**"did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"**

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid.**

"Who exactly is 'they'?" Fred asked in what was supposed to be an innocent voice. Instead of an answer, all he got was a stern look from his mother.

**"Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

**"You'd like one?"**

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid - here we go."**

Molly rolled her eyes.

"Of course Hagrid would want something like that as a pet." Never having known the half-giant as a student or groundskeeper, she was the least familiar with the man's idea of 'cute'.

"It is strange, though…" Luna had begun a thought, but trailed off, staring out the window. When it was clear that the girl was long gone from the present company, most just shrugged, and Hermione sent a covert look of disbelief at the absentminded student. Ginny, however, thought she knew what the Ravenclaw had been going to say.

While neither fourteen year old had spent much time together during school, they had both somehow ended up sitting in the stands next to Hagrid during the first challenge last year. To their astonishment, and everyone else in the crowd around them, when Krum's dragon had trampled her eggs, Hagrid had burst into tears, mumbled something about 'Norbert' and Charlie, then went running off wailing. Even before that, she had noticed Hagrid acting more wistful than wishful at the eggs and dragons everywhere—not necessarily how one would picture someone who wanted a pet. Shaking her head to bring herself back to the present, she put Hagrid's weird emotional response to dragons out of her mind and focused back on her father, who had started to read again.

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

Ron sniggered at the gobsmacked looks on some people's faces upon learning that Hagrid could knit. He leaned over to Hermione, who had a shrewd look on her face that he didn't even want to consider the reasons for, and said, "Harry told me once about that. Apparently he looks for yellow every time we visit Hagrid, but has yet to figure out if it's finished and what it's for."

Instead of the laughs he was aiming for, Hermione simply mumbled "…that's nice, Ron…" and continued to stare off into space, much like Luna had done not five minutes ago. Unbeknownst to the redhead, Hermione hadn't actually heard a word he said. Rather, she was hatching a plan to get Hagrid to help her with her new house-elf freeing strategy she wanted to launch in September.

A little frightened now of the gleeful, scheming glow that had appeared in his best friend's eyes, Ron scooted himself towards the other end of their couch and turned back to the group as a whole, who hadn't noticed anything.

**"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches.** **Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."**

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before and read:**

"Is it really safe to be reading a letter about magical schools on a public train?" Hermione pulled herself out of her musings just in time to figure out what was going on. Remus smiled at the girl's concern.

"Well, Hermione, in this case, I don't think there's anything to be worried about. If there's one thing I've noticed about Muggles in general, it is that children and their 'imagination' get a lot more flexibility than a grown adult wearing mismatching clothes would. Barring a few exceptions, of course." The werewolf suddenly frowned, thinking about the Dursleys, but everyone could see his point, so Arthur continued reading in order to avoid dwelling on Harry's relatives more than necessary.

**_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_**

**_UNIFORM_**

**_First-year students will require:_**

**_1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_**

**_2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_**

"Has anybody ever bothered to wear those?" Sirius asked, knowing that many of the students in his day had barely taken them out of their trunks for anything other than the Welcoming Feast. Minerva simply sighed, not wanting to argue with the man when she knew he was right.

"It is tradition, Mr. Black, and Albus is very intent on keeping as many of them around as possible. If you have any suggestions about it, I would speak to him directly." While the words were rather formal and polite, everyone heard the unspoken message; this was one of those inexplicable things Albus did that nobody could talk him out of.

**_3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_**

**_4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_**

**_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_**

**_COURSE BOOKS_**

**_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_**

**_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk_**

**_A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_**

**_Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_**

**_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch_**

**_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_**

**_Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_**

**_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_**

**_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_**

**_OTHER EQUIPMENT_**

**_1 wand_**

**_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_**

**_1 set of glass or crystal phials_**

**_1 telescope set_**

**_1 brass scales_**

**_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_**

Bill frowned, suddenly wondering how Percy and Ron had managed to get away with bringing a rat, of all things, as a pet for so many years. He suddenly realized that he hadn't seen Scabbers once since everyone had moved to Grimmauld Place, and no one had mentioned him at all either. Curious now, he decided at the next break that he would ask Ron about it, hoping that if the scrawny thing had died it wasn't too much of a sensitive topic with his younger brother.

**_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_**

Arthur paused momentarily to clear his throat. Surprisingly, they had gotten through the entire list without an interruption, but he assumed that was because the first year supply list hadn't changed much in many years.

The brief pause, however, gave the room enough silence for many to hear Severus mutter something under his breath, and when they looked over at him, he was scowling fiercely at Minerva, who seemed to be oblivious to the scrutiny, wearing a smug smile and slight blush. The only people who understood what was going on, however, were the five oldest Gryffindor students, who had trouble stifling their laughter as they exchanged looks.

As the laughter erupted, a baffled Sirius looked at the equally bemused Remus and, in a move long ago perfected by the friends, they shrugged in tandem and smiled at how disgruntled Severus had become from a simple, longstanding Hogwarts rule. They may not have been in on the joke, but they could appreciate how easily it had gotten the potions master's hackles up—something they hadn't seen since they were in school together.

For Severus, the mocking laughter from the Gryffindor students was the tipping point. He could deal with—and probably secretly enjoyed—the rivalry between Minerva and himself, but the students' laughter at his expense was not acceptable. And so, when he turned to Arthur with an eyebrow up expectantly, his expression held more venom than the poor man deserved (though considering three of the five brats were Weasleys, Severus was less inclined to see him as blameless).

Arthur, despite his confusion at the Slytherin's anger, nodded amiably and continued over the children's laughter, which caught their attention enough to settle down somewhat.

**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.**

**Harry had never been to London before.**

No one was really surprised by this, though Neville mumbled slightly to himself.

"Don't worry, Harry, I've never been to London outside Diagon Alley either."

**Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

"I suppose if you're used to Floo and apparating, that would seem somewhat slower." Remus chuckled, looking at the strange look Hermione was sending the book.

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.**

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people.**

"Unless you count Harry and Hagrid," George sniggered to his brother, who smirked.

**Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks?** **Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

"I'm surprised he hasn't thought of that before now, in all honesty," Sirius muttered grumpily. He had had the same thought about numerous lucky chances throughout his life, and even now, in the middle of the night, he would sometimes wonder if he were simply hallucinating, and was actually still rotting away in Azkaban. These dark thoughts coupled with his lack of sleep the last few nights almost physically manifested a dark cloud above the animagus' head. _We haven't even finished a single chapter today_, the man thought desperately, wondering how they were going to get through seven whole books if every chapter took this much energy.

Remus, noticing the nose-dive Sirius' mood was taking—again—did the only thing he thought his friend would notice in his musings; he simply patted him on the shoulder in a show of silent support. While it might not have looked like it helped to anybody else, the fact that Remus could feel Sirius' shoulder relax even infinitesimally put a smile on his face, and he hoped hearing happier times for Harry would help even more…if they ever got there.

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

Hearing this gave a few people smiles; having known him for years, most knew that Harry's instincts about situations were spot on. Hermione nodded a little, leaning over to Ron with a happy little smile.

"He's always had a soft spot for Hagrid, hasn't he?" The boy just nodded in agreement, wondering if he was imagining the misty look Hermione's eyes had taken on (and hoping he wouldn't have to deal with her crying. He hated crying girls).

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."**

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there.** **The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**

"For a skeptical eleven-year old, Harry sure is observant, isn't he?" Ginny was shaking her head in bemusement. She couldn't understand how a boy that half the time couldn't finish his homework without Hermione could at the same time pick up on the effects of some of the world's subtlest charms.

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.**

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut.**

"How long has Tom been running that place anyway?" Bill asked, scratching his head.

"He's had the Leaky Cauldron for quite a while now," Arthur answered his son, smiling nostalgically. "He was there when I started going to Hogwarts. Hagrid wasn't even Gamekeeper back then."

"It's actually quite amazing how little has changed, considering we went through a war and all," Hermione noted to herself, not really surprised at the fact that this was one more area the Wizarding World showed a desire to hang on to older customs and habits.

**The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"**

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid,**

Minerva let out a little sigh of relief; it seemed that Hagrid was taking his responsibility to escort Harry seriously.

**Clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**

_Well, almost…_ She let out another small sigh, this one closer to dismay than relief. She still stood by her opinion that the Gamekeeper had the best intentions—and probably assumed Harry would enjoy a bit of positive attention—but apparently Albus had neglected to mention that subtlety was probably a better option.

**"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this - can this be -?"**

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

"The clientele hasn't changed much either," Sirius muttered to Remus. Having grown up in a family known for their darker tendencies, the Black heir had always thought the gossipy regulars of the Cauldron to be overly nosy on more than one occasion.

** "Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor."**

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.**

**"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."**

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out.**

"Does he do that often?" Neville spoke up, looking like he was trying to remember something, but failing miserably at it.

"Do what, Neville?" Ron looked at him askance, as if he couldn't decide to laugh or be worried about the pained concentration on his year mate's face.

"Picking up on the little things no one should be noticing when there's so much other stuff going on." The Gryffindor gestured vaguely to emphasize his point, and Hermione grinned, nodding her head.

"Yes, Neville, he does. It's quite funny sometimes, when you compare how Harry remembers things to how someone else does. I think it goes back to how he prioritizes things in his head…" Hermione added this last part under her breath while Ron began regaling Neville with a prime example of what she meant, but she had tuned them out in favor of trying to work out how Harry's brain worked.

They were all pulled out of their conversations, however, when Severus interjected irritably.

"Can we just get a move on with this blasted chapter?"

As he thought it was too early in the morning to suffer the professor's ire, Arthur obliged.

**Hagrid was beaming.**

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

"Honestly, does anyone know the meaning of self-restraint?" Molly huffed out incredulously. She could understand children not knowing or caring about manners, but to hear about grown men and women acting like that was almost unbelievable. "Don't they realize they could have scared the poor boy out of his mind?"

**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

**"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter."**

**"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**

**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again - Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

The more Arthur read, the more people started agreeing with the Weasley mother; people's expressions were ranging from disbelief to resignation to clear disgust at the lack of maturity in the Leaky Cauldron at the moment.

Severus had a feeling that if this passage went on for much longer, he was going to give in to the urge and strangle something in order to keep his clenched fists from cramping. He had thought the attention Potter garnered from students and professors at school was too indulgent, but that paled in comparison to this display. If Hogwarts had been like this, nobody would have been able to get anything done.

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

**"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."**

**"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand,**

Hermione suddenly gasped softly, finally starting to put pieces of the timeline together from that year. She had remembered Harry talking about Quirrell's inability to touch him due to Voldemort's influence, but they had never been able to make sense of the timing, since Harry's recollections of the conversation during their fight was hazy in a few areas.

**"c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."**

**"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"**

**"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it.**

Ron grunted almost viciously. _Probably more like trying to ignore the irony, _he thought, still surprised after four years how the headmaster always managed to miss the murderous intent in his new hires until Harry was fairly attacked outright.

**"N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

Fred turned to his twin with a contemplative expression on his face.

"Who do you think turned out to be a better professor; the one hiding You-Know-Who in his turban and too terrified of the subject to speak, or the one masquerading as an ex-auror on You-Know-Who's orders while being so enamored with the subject he performed the actual spells on us rather than teaching us to defend against them?"

Realizing his brother was actually serious about his question, George tried to come up with an answer. Unfortunately, neither he nor any of the other students could decide, and Arthur eventually broke the awkward silence of their thinking with a cough.

"Well, moving on…"

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all.**

"Hagrid actually let people mob Harry for over ten minutes?" Hermione was surprised; Harry might have been good at hiding most of his emotions, but his discomfort in crowds was usually quite obvious, and Hagrid was also usually much more sensitive to things like that. A few other people seemed to be feeling the same way, but Remus pointed something out that no one had thought of yet.

"I think, Hermione, Hagrid might have become a little caught up in the excitement of Harry returning to the magical world."

"I suppose…" Hermione sighed, though she still had a troubled expression on her face.

**At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

**"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."**

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.**

**Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

**"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

**"Is he always that nervous?"**

**"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind.** **He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since."**

"Well, I always said action was a much better teacher than words," Sirius said. "Just think, Remus, without James and I around, you might have turned into the same kind of stuffy bookworm—afraid of your own shadow." He chuckled at the affronted look on his friend's face.

"For your information, Sirius, I would have been fine in the experience department without your meddling. In fact, I probably would have had at least half the number of detentions I did simply because I wasn't involved in your ridiculous ideas about 'action'." He sniffed snootily, but everyone could see the smirk the werewolf couldn't quite remove. "Besides, you only said that so often because you thought it was a good enough excuse to skip out on your homework."

Not being able to deny this with a straight face, Sirius simply shook his head while chuckling some more, not noticing the exchange of glances between Remus and Minerva; both of whom were glad to see his mood continuing to improve.

**"Scared of the students, scared of his own subject. Now, where's me umbrella?"**

**_Vampires? Hags?_**** Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

**"Three up... two across," he muttered.**

"Does Hagrid really still need to use the trash can as a reference to get in?" Ginny wrinkled her nose in confusion. The number of times their family had to visit Diagon Alley in a single year was ample time to memorize exactly which brick opened the arch, in her opinion.

Remus laughed. "Most people don't ever bother with remembering, Ginny, since the bin hasn't been moved in decades." Unseen by the werewolf, the twins' eyes had suddenly brightened. Sharing a glance, Fred whispered to his brother.

"Wouldn't it be a shame if it were to somehow move overnight…" They broke apart quickly, before anyone (namely Hermione) could get suspicious.

**"Right, stand back, Harry."**

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

**The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**

**He grinned at Harry's amazement.**

Everyone in the room was grinning as well. Ron leaned over to Neville and Hermione, nodding toward the book.

"You think that's the same expression he had on when we first saw Hogwarts?" Laughing, they nodded in agreement.

"And when we first got to the Great Hall," Neville added.

"Don't forget when the Welcoming Feast appeared!" Hermione was almost bursting with giggles at this point. They had all forgotten how often eleven-year-old Harry had been rendered speechless the first few days at Hogwarts.

While no one else could quite tell what the three fifth-years were saying through the laughter, they were nonetheless enjoying the sight of the light-hearted banter. Even Arthur had paused in his reading to enjoy the rare levity in the room.

**They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**

Hermione had begun calming her laughter as Arthur once again began reading, and hearing this, she suddenly thought of something.

"Doesn't all that commotion get tiresome after a while?" She asked thoughtfully. She enjoyed using the Leaky Cauldron's entrance as much as the next Muggleborn, but it did seem like a lot of fanfare when you considered how many people opened and closed the gate on a daily basis.

"Of course not!" The twins were sending her appalled looks while Ginny, Luna, Ron and Neville all appeared speechless. Even Bill seemed slightly scandalized by the suggestion that people would get tired of the flashy entrance ritual.

Seeing that she was out numbered, she simply shrugged in surrender.

"I guess not…"

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. ****_Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible_****, said a sign hanging over them.**

**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."**

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.** **He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping.**

**A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..."** **A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.**

**"Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever -"**

"Not anymore…" Ron said to himself, thinking about Harry's broom. "Do you think they're working on a new model again? They came out with three in three years, and then stopped after the Firebolt." Sirius laughed.

"Sorry, Ron, I don't think so. That usually happens leading up to the Cup, but then things go back to normal." He laughed again when the redhead deflated slightly, but more quiet grumblings from Severus pulled everyone's focus.

Still feeling it was too early to get into any arguments, Arthur quickly picked back up where he had left off.

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...**

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops.**

"Ostentatious," Severus harrumphed under his breath, though the frown Bill sent his way meant he wasn't as quiet as he thought.

"They're actually not that bad when you get to know them," he said. Yes, they were a little difficult to get along with, but that was just the way the goblin culture was. He was a little disgruntled to see that no one else was willing to agree with him, though. Most people were shifting uneasily or avoiding his glance.

**Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was -**

**"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

**_Enter, stranger, but take heed_**

**_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_**

**_For those who take, but do not earn,_**

**_Must pay most dearly in their turn._**

**_So if you seek beneath our floors_**

**_A treasure that was never yours,_**

**_Thief, you have been warned, beware_**

**_Of finding more than treasure there._**

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

Ginny shook her head. "Somehow, I don't think it's the poem that deters lawbreakers." Seeing as Bill still looked a little bent out of shape from Professor Snape's earlier comment, she refrained from finishing the thought; _it's more the reputation of those that run the place_.

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.**

"**Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."**

**"You have his key, Sir?"**

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers.** **The goblin wrinkled his nose.**

A couple of people winced at this.

"Probably would have been a good idea to sort that out _before _you went up to one of the counters, Hagrid." Arthur muttered under his breath. He knew how small those blasted safe keys were, and considering Hagrid's coat was big enough to house multiple live animals, he didn't want to think about how easy it would be to get lost—or what would happen if he couldn't find it.

**Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.**

**The goblin looked at it closely.**

**"That seems to be in order."**

Sirius snorted. "I know they like their protocol and all, but for something like that, it just makes them sound ridiculous." Seeing Bill's scowl still in place, Remus elbowed his friend.

"You're only saying that because you've never had any regard for the institution and its tradition. It probably makes running such a large operation much easier." When it looked like the Black heir would start arguing, Remus sent him a loaded glance, and gestured subtly at the oldest Weasley child.

Luckily, Sirius seemed to pick up on the message, and gave up his argument with little fanfare.

**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

Hermione was the first to react to this little speech, though certainly not the only one. She slapped her forehead—perhaps a little too viciously, as the sound echoed throughout the room—and groaned.

"Hagrid, I know you only just met him and probably don't know any better, but really that was the worst thing to say in front of Harry!"

No one seemed to hear anything past the half-giant's name, however, as many were making exasperated noises of their own. Minerva was pinching her nose, while Severus had—uncharacteristically emotive—gone straight to simply putting his head in his hands. Meanwhile Arthur had lost any opportunity to grouse about Hagrid's blunder; Molly had started almost immediately into a tirade—directly into her dear husband's ear. "How does he think it's okay to say something like that in front of an eleven-year-old boy? He works around children for a living! He should know better…" All the poor man could do was nod along.

Remus and Sirius seemed to be stuck between laughter and exasperation. Unbeknownst to either man, they were taking the same philosophy for this whole debacle: clearly there was nothing they could do to stop whatever was going to happen, so they might as well enjoy the ride. The Weasley children and Neville were too busy laughing at Hermione's outburst to really bother worrying about Hagrid's tact: they knew Harry would have gotten all caught up in the events no matter what the half-giant had said.

Luna, as had become typical for her in the past day, was staring off into space, this time towards the window while wearing a slight smile.

Since there was little actual conversation going on, though, the tumult settled down fairly quickly and Arthur was able to start his reading again.

**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.**

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously.**

"Because that clearly is how you stop children from being curious," Bill said sarcastically, slowly coming out of his bad mood, but still not as comfortable as he had been in previous chapters.

**"Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. **

**Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in - Hagrid with some difficulty - and were off.** **At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**

"Ahh, magic! Isn't it wonderful, Harry?" George laughed at his twin's dreamy sigh.

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage**

"What, really?" Neville jumped in. While his family's vault wasn't as far down as some of the other Purebloods, he had seen quite a bit of the cavernous bank. However, never once had he caught a hint about dragons, let alone flames in any of the passages.

Even Bill was shocked out of his bad mood. While he may have worked for the bank—and been on better terms with the Goblins than other wizards—he hadn't even seen evidence of dragons, aside from the rumors.

**And twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

Ginny's eyebrows had been moving steadily upward, and she couldn't help but interrupt her father here.

"How far down is Harry's vault? I've never even seen half of what he's talking about!" To her annoyance, Bill simply laughed at his sister.

"That's because our vault is in a completely different section, Ginny, in the opposite direction from where Harry and Hagrid are right now." Seeing that his baby sister was not satisfied with his answer, he elaborated, though kept in mind that he couldn't give away too much information.

"But, to answer your other question, Harry—being in the Potter line—has one of the vaults on the lower levels, where a lot of the old families keep their assets."

It looked like Ginny was going to keep interrogating her brother, but Hermione interrupted, noticing Ron shifting around uncomfortably next to her.

"Um, Ginny, I know the history and organization of Gringotts is fascinating—" She elbowed Neville, who had let out a little skeptical snort, "—but I think that's better left for a break between chapters."

"**I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid.**

Eyebrows went up around the room at this.

"Well, he's not _wrong_, per se," Remus said amusedly, "but still missing an important part of the explanation."

**"An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."**

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

Ron shook his head with a small smile. "Hagrid will willingly take in gigantic, deadly monsters without blinking, but a _cart ride_ makes him nervous? Tha—ow! What was that for?!" He was brought out of his disbelief by a slap to the head, courtesy of Hermione.

"Be nice, Ron. Hagrid simply gets motion sickness, it's actually quite common in the Muggle world. I'm surprised more people don't suffer from it, with the way some of your magical vehicles are run." She shuddered, thinking back to how Harry had described his ride on the Knight Bus.

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out,** **and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.**

Sirius frowned, turning to Remus.

"Just coins? I thought James said his family kept a lot of their heirlooms in their vault?" Remus' forehead scrunched up in thought, and after a few seconds, answered his friend.

"Maybe Harry just hasn't noticed anything else, Sirius. The book does seem to imply that he was taken off-guard." Seeing that the Black heir wasn't convinced, both men turned to the person who knew the most about the bank's workings.

While they had been talking, they had failed to notice the awkward and tense mood that had settled around almost everyone else who had been listening. Ron in particular was looking very uncomfortable—he had always had the hardest time when Harry's wealth was discussed—and his uneasiness left the rest of the students and his family feeling awkward as well.

Taking a quick glance at his youngest brother (who was shifting around in his seat), Bill sighed and answered the ex-Gryffindors' question.

"I've never actually been in Harry's vault, so I can't be sure, but there are a two or three different designs used by the really old families…It could be that—" Here he was unexpectedly cut off by his mother.

"Oh! I had completely forgotten!" Molly's eyes had gone wide as she clearly remembered something. Unfortunately, no one else knew what she was talking about, and she was faced with a lot of blank stares. "Last year, what with the Quidditch Cup and everything, the children didn't have a chance to go school shopping, so I figured it would be easier if I bought Harry's things for him while I was in Diagon Alley for everyone else. One of my first stops was Gringotts. I hadn't understood at the time, but while the main room is only his money, there were a couple of doors along the walls. Those must be where the family heirlooms are kept, Sirius."

She nodded decisively, glad to have helped solve one of the many mysteries this book had given them. Rather than thanking her, or seeming even remotely pleased with this answer, Sirius' frown just got deeper.

"If Harry didn't know you were going to be getting his things, how did you get the key to his vault? Didn't you ask him for it beforehand?" Molly opened her mouth to answer immediately, but then seemed to realize something and hesitated, blinking.

"I…well, I, uh, I simply asked Albus, of course." Remus, Severus, Bill and Arthur all looked surprised, and a little unnerved by this. The werewolf in particular was wondering how Sirius had caught on to the problem when no one else had, and was slightly ashamed that the incongruity had never been noticed by himself.

Ron and the other teens had forgotten about their unease in the face of the serious turn the conversation had just taken. Sirius simply looked like his suspicions had been confirmed, and was nodding grimly. Even Minerva had a frown on her face at this pronouncement, and turned to the Weasley matriarch with her 'don't try and wriggle out of this' face she usually saved for the twins.

"Do you mean to tell me that Albus has the ONLY means to access Harry's vault, and anyone who would like to gain entry has to go through him first?" At the woman's tentative nod, she continued, though it sounded more like she was talking to herself at this point. "I understand keeping it while the boy was with his relatives, but after he started school…wouldn't you think…" She trailed off, and in the ensuing silence, Severus spoke up, strangely somber, given the present company.

"Be that as it may, there is nothing we can do about it at the moment, and Albus is not here for us to question, so why don't we continue and see if Hagrid gives any more information about the situation." Seeing the nods of reluctant agreement, Arthur took a deep breath and plunged onwards.

**"All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

**All Harry's - it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep?**

Despite the recent concerns, once again Harry's thoughts about the Dursleys were able to distract everyone.

"How much could hand-me-downs and a closet cost?" Ginny scowled. She and her brothers knew how much knut-pinching their family did to keep things going, and they still managed to give Harry a decent place to stay over the summer. Most of the Weasleys were having similar thoughts, coupled with the same expression as their sister, as well.

Ron, however, was feeling slightly ashamed and uncomfortable—again. He was starting to hate this book simply because it was making him think about his feelings (something he tried to avoid most of the time). He knew that Harry didn't really care about his money, and that the amount of wealth didn't change the way he treated people; but emotionally, the redhead was still worried after all these years that Harry would wake up one day and decide Malfoy's gang was much better company, simply because they had the same kind of bank vault.

Hermione may not have been a very good divination student, but she had a shrewd idea where Ron's head was at, and simply patted him on the shoulder in a show of solidarity and comfort. Still lost in his thoughts, her friend just sent her a vague smile, but stopped shifting around, luckily. Some people were starting to take notice, and she didn't think Ron would react very well to awkward questions.

**And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.** **Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**

**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough."**

Arthur nodded to himself here, mumbling, "Much easier than all that muggle money. Never know when to use the paper pieces or the coins…all the same color, all with the same face on it…"

Meanwhile, Hermione was mumbling as well, "Yes, _much easier_ than the simple system of the Muggles… it's all by tens, how hard… to count…. where did they even… twenty-nine?! …exchange rates… completely ridiculous…"

**"Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms,**

The twins sniggered, and George spoke up.

"Either Hagrid is completely misinformed about the price of school supplies, or Harry's doing something wrong, because he goes and gets money almost every summer!"

"Well, it doesn't help that every year we need a new set of Defense books because each professor has a different curriculum," Ginny rolled her eyes, but to her surprise Minerva and Severus nodded in agreement.

"Quite right, Ms Weasley," Minerva said, smirking slightly when the twins stuck their tongues out at the girl. "We try to keep things as reasonable as possible, but with all the difficulty Albus has finding staff members recently, it has gotten a bit harder. Though I must say, it had never been as bad as your first year." She—and anyone else who remembered the ridiculous book list Lockhart had required—shuddered.

Not wanting to dwell on how he had had to buy five set of those books, Arthur quickly returned to where he had been interrupted.

**"we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

**"One speed only," said Griphook.**

"As affable as ever, Griphook," Bill chuckled softly, having dealt with this particular goblin on more than one occasion. He almost felt bad for Hagrid; some of the other goblins that transported wizards to their vaults were much more personable, and at least tried to keep their clients somewhat happy.

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed.** **The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners.**

Neville's eyebrows went up again. There's _still_ deeper vaults? I thought the purebloods were on the lowest level because they had the largest rooms and were the most secure?" He blushed and slouched down in his seat when Bill simply burst out laughing.

Many people were taken aback—they had all thought it was a fairly reasonable question, and Bill wasn't usually so unkind to mock someone. When he caught his breath, the eldest Weasley son realized he had a few hard stares directed toward him, and he quickly explained.

"Oh, sorry Neville, It's just that, most people think the same as you. It seems most have forgotten their history lessons about Goblins." He glanced around and found an attentive audience. Even Minerva seemed intrigued by what he was going to say.

"Gringotts only became a public bank for Wizards when Diagon Alley started becoming more popular as a shopping area. Before that, no one had a need to have their money on hand in London. But that doesn't mean that was when the vaults were built. As you know, Goblins have been making artefacts and weapons for centuries, and they don't like to share. What better way to keep their hoards safe from Wizards than hiding them underground in the rock where they couldn't be detected, or even reached?

"Even now, Wizards only have ownership of a very small area of the whole underground maze that the Goblins came up with, and it is only those with great influence or magical law behind them that get access to the lower vaults. It's really no surprise Griphook is being so surly…not only does he have to let Albus down to the more private and secret area, not Hagrid and Harry are being given access as well to closely guarded areas and secrets."

Bill took a deep breath, and noticed that everyone appeared to be processing all this still. Luna, however, was nodding her head as if she had already known what he was going to say. When she noticed his quizzical stare, she simply shrugged.

"It makes sense; the goblins would need a safe place to live, especially now that Minister Fudge has decided to increase his pie-baking operation." Almost as one, the room turned to the blonde in astonishment, but all she said—as she gestured at Arthur to continue reading—was, "I told you, Daddy is doing an expose on the minister in his next issue; you really should read it when it prints."

And on that note, Arthur decided it was time enough to get back to the book.

**They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom,** **but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

"And yet," Ron mumbled to Hermione with something between a grin and a grimace, "This is the same man who sent Harry upon the back of a semi-wild, grumpy Hipogriff without thinking twice."

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**

**"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

"How very…effective," Remus commented delicately. Hearing him, Hermione couldn't help but laugh to herself.

"Yes, effective," she muttered to Ron, who was looking between her and the werewolf, "unless there happens to be something inside said vault that makes someone _immortal_…like a sorcerer's stone." Ron stifled a laugh while his friend continued to shake her head at the irony of it all.

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least - but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.** **Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat.**

"Well, I hope he keeps a better eye on this 'top secret package' than he did on Harry's vault key," Molly muttered, a little grumpily. Each chapter seemed to taking longer than the last, and the mood in the book had still only improved minimally.

** Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.** **One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life - more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

"I would hope so," Sirius said, "That little heathen's parents buy him so many things, Merlin only knows what he would use actual money for."

"Hmm," George began considering out loud. He glanced at Fred with a raised eyebrow, which his brother simply mirrored. Then, with a decisive nod, he said, "Yep, I would definitely say food." Not being able to deny the logic of this statement, most people just rolled their eyes while Arthur continued to read as if his son hadn't just said anything.

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.**

"A good place to start, getting all the essentials," Minerva commented, silently adding that this was especially the case for eleven-year-old Potter.

**"Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts."**

"He really left an eleven year old alone, in the middle of a shopping area, with a bag full of more money than he's ever had in his life, and trusts him to go buy _clothes_?" Sirius was, to say the least, flabbergasted. Minerva had simply winced, while Severus had a look that basically said 'just-as-I-thought'.

Many of the teenagers had a wistful look on their face—as if it was a dream of their eleven-year-old selves to have been given free rein in Diagon Alley.

**He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

"And trust Harry to do exactly that," Ron chuckled.

"Until he met you, Ron" Ginny returned with a smirk while her brother's face flushed.

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**

**"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes.**

Remus wrinkled his brow, trying to figure out which of his former students this could be. There was one that came to mind almost immediately, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"You can stop thinking so hard, Lupin, you might hurt yourself." Severus sneered at the werewolf and his flaring sidekick. "Mr. Potter did, in fact, meet Mr. Malfoy." He turned when he heard Minerva sigh, and he saw she was shaking her head slightly.

"There's no need to be rude, Severus." She was looking at him reprovingly, but the Potions Master seemed unruffled. "There aren't many other people in this room who are on such close speaking terms with the Malfoy family."

"Don't know why anyone would ever want to be, either," Sirius sneered under his breath with a frown.

Noticing that the potential argument had been defused, Arthur figured the muttering would stop if he started reading again, so he picked the book up and cleared his throat—a little louder than necessary, but enough to catch people's attention.

**Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"**

**"Yes," said Harry.**

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands,"** **said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

"I would have liked to see him try," Minerva and Severus had spoken almost simultaneously, though they were referring to two different things. The black haired professor had been thinking about young Malfoy's little-known secret—he was as intimidated by his father as most other adult wizards.

Minerva was simply thinking of her secret weapon on the first day of school—the house elves were fairly good about letting her know if anything too forbidden had been smuggled in while the luggage was being transported to the different house dormitories (the Weasley twins were the only students who had managed to elude her every September—she suspected bribery was involved, but could never prove it).

While most of the adults were looking on in amusement at the two Hogwarts professors, Hermione just simply huffed and crossed her arms.

"That's so typical of him, though, trying to show off before he even knows Harry's name," she said, rolling her eyes. Many people who knew the blonde boy had to agree (even Severus, though he would never admit that to anyone other than himself). Ron simply laughed.

"Yeah, but you know Malfoy, Hermione, he's all big words but no follow through. Besides, it's not like it helped him much in our flying lesson." He broke out into more laughter while his bushy-haired friend simply rolled her eyes again in exasperation. Nobody—including Neville and Minerva (who had only seen a part of the whole debacle)—knew what they were referring to, and decided to ignore them.

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

"That would be a very good incentive for animosity," Remus commented, suddenly understanding. "Anybody acting like his cousin, however unknowingly, would have a very hard time endearing themselves to Harry, I would imagine."

**"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.**

**"No," said Harry.**

**"Play Quidditch at all?"**

**"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

"What a wondrous day it was, indeed, dear brother, when little Harry discovered the joys of Quidditch" George exalted with a huge grin on his face.

"Dark days they were, indeed, my brother, when young Harry was ignorant of his Seeking talent." Fred, with an identical grin was nodding along enthusiastically, to the amusement of all the Gryffindor students in the room.

"If you really believe that," Minerva interrupted the students, with what could only be described as a mischievous light in her eyes, "Then you should probably be thanking Malfoy for his help, rather than picking fights with him all the time."

Having finally made many of the Weasley children speechless—and a good number of the adults curious—she simply smiled politely and asked Arthur to continue.

**"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"**

**"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

"I like the Hufflepuffs," Luna suddenly broke in, apparently coming out of the daze she'd been sitting in for the last few pages. Everyone looked at her, expecting her to continue, but after a few seconds of listening to her humming quietly and examining one of the far bookshelves, Arthur shrugged and picked up the reading again.

**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

"He seems to be feeling better after 'calming his nerves'," Remus said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Molly was whispering to her husband, quiet enough to not interrupt his reading. "Hagrid really does have a heart of gold, doesn't he?" Seeing the way that he took care of Harry, her worries about Albus sending the groundskeeper were quieted, though not entirely gone.

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."**

**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"That's a little hypocritical coming from someone slated to be one of the dark lord's 'servants' in a few years," Sirius muttered almost viciously under his breath.

**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry.** **He was liking the boy less and less every second.**

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**

**"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"**

"There's that Slytherin subtlety they're all known for!" George said sarcastically with a roll of is eyes. Not even Severus could believe the sheer rudeness of the younger Malfoy; it was little wonder to the Potions master why the boy had only ever hung around with children he'd known since infancy—he put off any new acquaintances with his poor behavior.

**"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

"I don't think anyone would, with the way he's acting," Ginny was wondering how he had ever found this boy and his attitude intimidating. Now she just found it annoying.

**"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all.** **"But they were our kind, weren't they?"**

Bill shook his head, "And he just keeps digging his hole deeper…is he even listening to himself?" Needless to say, no one felt the need to answer such an obviously rhetorical question.

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine.** **I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"**

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear,"**

"That was nice timing," Neville said brightly, perking up at the thought of Harry moving on to more interesting parts of Diagon Alley.

"Serendipitous, yes…" Remus said consideringly, "But with Madame Malkin standing there for the entire conversation, I doubt it was just luck that she set one of the boys on their way at that moment."

Sirius snorted skeptically. "She was always one of the diztier shop owners, Remus, and I doubt it's gotten any better as she's aged. I bet she stopped listening after she heard the word 'Quidditch'." He still hadn't quite come out of his foul mood, and so far this chapter hadn't been as entertaining as he had been hoping.

"But," Remus countered, "She's also not a fan of confrontations, and has always done her best to keep things running smoothly and all her customers happy. Why do you think she never let you and James get fitted at the same time?"

Despite his mood swings, Sirius still managed a smirk at that memory, while Minerva's estimation of Madam Malkin's sensibility moved up a notch or two.

**and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

"Who would want to after that conversation?" Bill was a little shocked at the manners from such a 'well-bred' pureblood, and could see why his siblings shared no love for the boy and anyone he hung around with.

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

"What a strange combination," Hermione was wrinkling her nose a little, "How did Hagrid decide on that, of all things, for Harry?" Ron frowned when she turned to him.

"I don't think Harry minded, considering his only other experience with ice cream was a cheap lemon ice pop."

"Nice of you to try and keep our spirits up, Ronnie-boy" Fred grumbled when he saw Hermione and Ginny slump a little in their seats at the reminder. He and George were finding their job of 'keeping everyone in good cheer' an exhausting one at the moment, and he didn't appreciate his brother blundering in and ruining things.

**"What's up?" said Hagrid.**

**"Nothing," Harry lied.**

Now Hermione was frowning again as well. "I don't think he's ever uttered those words truthfully in his entire life."

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote.**

Severus raised an eyebrow, "He's just lucky he never tried to use that for any of my assignments; his penmanship was horrible enough as it was." Minerva was once again rolling her eyes at her colleague, and replied tartly.

"His handwriting is no worse than any other students, Severus. In fact, it is better than quite a few of your Slytherins'."

**When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pate boy in Madam Malkin's.**

"He's never been able to keep anything from Hagrid," Hermione said, almost-wistfully. She and Ron had talked about this once or twice—they weren't _jealous_…they just wished Harry had as much confidence in them as he did in Hagrid.

"By all accounts, the same can be said when Hagrid is upset," Minerva said. She had heard Albus mention something along those lines a few times, but she hadn't realized how unique the relationship really was.

**"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in."**

**"Yer not from a Muggle family.**

"If only things were that black and white, Hagrid," Sirius said, sadly.

**If he'd known who yeh were -** **he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles - look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"**

"A very valid point," Severus muttered to himself, though he could tell that most of the other people in the room were thinking the same. It seemed that now the story was picking up, and Mr. Weasley was getting through longer sections, people were less inclined to continue interrupting.

**"So what is Quidditch?"**

George snorted, his brother following mere milliseconds later.

"Nice segue, Harry!"

"At least the boy has his priorities in order: who cares about prejudice when there are sports to talk about!"

**"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like soccer in the Muggle world** **- everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

Remus had to check himself before his hands ended up over his eyes in disbelief.

"Well, at least that was better than his explanation of stalagmites," he sighed, amid the chuckles from the teenagers.

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

**"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but –"**

"I know he wasn't a professor at this point, but don't you think that's a little judgemental of Hagrid?" Bill asked, "I always thought he got along with almost everyone."

"I've never heard Hagrid say anything like that about the Hufflepuffs, either," Hermione said in consideration. "Seems like an odd time for him to say that…" She trailed off when Mr. Weasley—of all people—coughed in a very poor attempt to cover up a chuckle. With all eyes turned to him, he coughed again in embarrassment.

"Sorry, it's just nobody seemed to hear me correctly," he said with a shrug. When most people continued to stare at him in confusion, he continued; "well, Hagrid didn't sound like he was finished with his thought. He added a 'but' in there, but his sentence gets cut off in the book, so who knows what he would have said. I'd like to think he was going to refute that general assessment of the house."

"Well, who interrupted him?" Ron asked loudly.

"You would know by now if I hadn't been interrupted myself" Mr. Weasley said pointedly, and as the room grew quiet again, he started reading.

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.**

"I alw—" Luna had once again decided to jump in randomly, but unlike before, she was interrupted by Ginny.

"We know, Luna," she said, doing her best not to add an eye roll. "You've already mentioned that." The blonde in question simply blinked.

"Have I?" she looked around, seeing a lot of her fellow school mates nodding, though not everyone was succeeding in hiding laughter. "Oh…I don't remember ever talking about Harry's sorting…" she turned back to Mr. Weasley, but he simply looked back at her in confusion.

"I think Ms Weasley may have been putting the carriage before the Thestral…why don't you finish your thought, Ms Lovegood," Minerva said after a few awkward seconds of silence. Luna nodded and started again.

"I was just saying that I always thought Harry would make a good Hufflepuff," she said, "he seems like a very forgiving person."

Seeing as she was finished, Mr. Weasley began speaking rather quickly, so as to avoid another awkward pause.

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly.**

**"There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin.** **You-Know-Who was one."**

"There's the unbiased Hagrid we know and love," George chortled, while Severus scowled.

"He's also completely inaccurate, and he knows it." He sneered in the direction of Sirius, who just rolled his eyes.

**"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**

"It wasn't actually that long ago, in terms of Wizarding history," Hermione spoke up again, in her 'lecture voice' (as Ron had named it). "In fact, Hagrid was in school with him, so unless Hagrd wants to make himself seem older than he is, he probably shouldn't keep talking like that."

Severus could have sworn he heard Minerva mumble "Indeed" next to him, and he smirked. No many people ever actually thought enough about it to realize the deputy headmistress had also been in school with the then-named Tom Riddle. He suspected she preferred it that way as well.

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all.**

**Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these.**

"That's pushing it a little, Harry" Ron had one eyebrow up skeptically.

**Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from ****_Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) _****by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

"And besides, Hagrid's already gone and done that for you, Harry," Ginny chuckled along with Neville and Ron at Harry's idea, but the boys were quickly cowed b Hermione's sharp stare as she turned to them.

"You shouldn't encourage them and their mischief, Ginny!" the older girl pointed out, resolutely ignoring Ron's coughing fit that sounded more like the word "hypocrite" than it did a tickle in his throat.

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. **

"At least Hagrid knows how to be exceedingly practical," Sirius shook his head slightly, thinking about the fact that he once had to talk his crazy mother _out_ of buying a pure silver cauldron for Regulus because she had wanted one that "properly reflected his heritage" to the other students.

**Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages.** **Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

_No wonder he started out so poorly in class,_ Severus scoffed to himself, _not even paying attention to the ingredients he needs to be familiar with for class, and simply indulging him own whims! _He rolled his eyes, while managing to avoid meeting the sideways glance sent to him by Minerva, as if she knew (and disapproved) of what he was saying in the privacy of his own mind.

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.**

**"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

"I thought the cake was Hagrid's present to Harry?" Neville scrunched up his forehead in confusion. His question brought a good number of the others up short, however, as they pondered the same thing. It was Bill who finally answered the Gryffindor's lingering question.

"If I remember correctly…I don't think Hagrid ever said the cake was Harris present…" he spoke hesitantly, as if he couldn't quite remember. Mr. Wesley flipped quickly back to the previous chapter, and nodded as he found the right passage.

"You're right, Bill, all Hagrid says is _'Got sommat for yeh' _but nothing about a present." As the patriarch found his place once more, the room settled back down.

**Harry felt himself go red.**

**"You don't have to -"**

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at –**

Neville felt his cheeks turning red, despite his best efforts to prevent them, but before he could check the rest of the room to see if anyone else was staring at him, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and heard Ron speak in an almost nonexistent voice. "I'd take Trevor over Hermione's stupid mop of a cat any day…"

Apparently, the poor boy wasn't quiet enough, however, and Neville chuckled weakly as his dorm mate was whacked fairly violently by their female year mate.

**an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze.**

"See, I'm not the only one who thinks so…" Still pouting about his best friend's violent tendencies, the red head managed one last stab at crookshanks before surrendering in a slouch.

**I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing.**

Upon hearing this, most of the teens looked around warily, as if suddenly realizing Harry's feathered companion hadn't returned after last night.

"Maybe she finally gave up and went back to Harry?" Hermione said in response to the confused silence. No one had an answer; not even Luna, who Ginny was now considering suspiciously.

Meanwhile, Sirius' face had fallen back into a depressed frown, and Remus couldn't figure out why. "Sirius?" he said, quietly enough that the rest of the room ignored the pair while they were worrying about Hedwig's whereabouts.

The black-haired man simply shrugged, and turned with a fairly pitiful (in Remus' opinion) look on his face. "How can anyone compete with that, Moony? He bought Harry his first _friend_."

And like a light bulb suddenly going off, Remus knew what he problem was. Unfortunately, now was neither the time nor place to talk to Sirius about his fears. As it was, all the werewolf could do was pat his friend on the shoulder, and mutter. "You idiot…you're over thinking things again."

He must not been have as quiet as he hoped, however, because the ex-professor saw Minerva turn to the men's couch out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't reassure her, however, as Arthur picked up the story at that moment.

**He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys.** **Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

Tired of getting glares from his colleague, Severus settled for mentally rolling his eyes at Hagrid's sentiment.

**A magic wand... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read ****_Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. _****A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

"Ollivander always was good at setting the mood," Arthur said with a laugh.

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

"He was definitely not that creepy when I got my wand…" Ron said, with his eyebrows up. "What about you Hermione?" The girl in question blushed a little.

"Well, everything was so extraordinary the first time I went to Diagon Alley…" she began, not really waning to admit that Ollivander had reminded her of many of the books she had read as a little girl—over the top, and not a little bit unbelievable—"…my parents thought it all was fairly quaint." She ended with a small smile. As much as long as Professor McGonagall had spent talking to the family of three, her parents had reacted more like they were at a faire where everyone was in costume when they went and bought Hermione's supplies…up until she received her wand, and silver confetti had appeared out of nowhere.

"Maybe he only does that with muggleborns," Bill suggested with a laugh. It said a lot about Ollivander's personality that no one questioned how the man would know a muggle-raised child vs. a wizard-raised child before he ever met them. Rather, they all chuckled a little and got back to the story.

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

"Indeed," Minerva said in an undertone. Filius had gone on almost as much as Horace had about Lily's aptitude in his classes.

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration.**

Minerva nodded to hrself again, almost—but not entirely—lost down memory lane. It made sense that a teenage boy who could become a full-fledged Animagus—in _secret_—with no trained mentor to guide him would find his match in a wand that leant itself to transfiguration.

**Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**

"Definitely creepy," Neville shivered. He was almost glad Gran had refused to let him use a wand other than his father's; he wasn't sure what he would have done in the strange wandmaker's presence.

"**And that's where..."**

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."**

"…Ollivander could set up a side shop for Divination," Sirius mumbled, speaking for the first time in a little while. It was only under his breath, and he wasn't actually talking to anyone, but Remus took this as a good sign nonetheless, and gave his friend another pat on the shoulder.

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

"Not bendy enough, however…" Sirius' black humor was starting to come out again, and Remus seriously hoped something positive happened soon. The Black's melancholy was starting to effect the whole room, slowly but surely.

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**

**"Er - yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

**"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

**"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

"Of course Harry would notice that," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now - Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

**"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**

**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head.** **As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same.** **And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."**

"As much as purebloods understand the value of an individual's wand, they are quite stuck on tradition and sentiment, aren't they?" Luna suddenly spoke up, inadvertently saving Neville from any awkward questions (his hand had strayed to his wand almost on its own, and he had a slightly pained expression on his face that only Ginny had noticed thus far).

"What do you mean, Ms Lovegood?" Minerva prompted the girl after a few seconds where it became clear no one was following the girl's train of thought.

"It always seems like there are a lot of wizards using their relative's wands out of sentimentality, rather than buying their own" She said simply.

"She's right, you know," Bill spoke up, a little surprised that he was agreeing with the decidedly odd girl. "There's plenty of stories in the history books of people stealing famous wands, and then being defeated because they weren't compatible with their magic." He was stopped from continuing by a very loud—and fake—yawn from his brother.

"As much as we'd _love_ to hear a history of magic lesson right now, Bill," Fred began with an eye roll. "I'd rather hear how dear Harry's introduction to his own wand goes." George nodded eagerly, making "subtle" hand gestures to his father to start reading. Arthur and Bill merely shared an exasperated glance, and the red headed wizard began again.

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."**

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try –"**

**Harry tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

**"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."**

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

**"Tricky customer, eh?"**

"How many wands does it usually take before Ollivander finds the right one?" Neville asked, curious despite himself.

"That all depends on the person, Mr. Longbottom," Remus answered him kindly. "It took me quite a while to find a wand; certain elements of my….personality….weren't very agreeable with some of them." The boy nodded, while Sirius snorted at his friend's delicate answer.

"Then there's my family….I think Ollivander had seen enough Blacks that he knew where to start." The man sniffed in disdain. "I found mine on the second try." He forced a slightly happier expression on his face as he continued.

"One of the advantages of having all long-lived and/or paranoid relatives," he winked a Luna, "Any wand I would have inherited still had an owner, or had been cursed upon their death, as they were all convinced someone would attempt to steal the family secrets if they got their hands on a wand."

**Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.**

"Impressive," Remus nodded, picturing Harry with a surprised expression on his face. Sirius turned to his friend with a smile that could have also been a grimace.

"Just wait a minute…"

**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "**

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious…"**

**"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"**

"When it comes to you, Harry, is there anything that _isn't_ curious?" Ginny asked cynically. Everyone was too intrigued to even turn in her direction, let alone reply, however: they all wanted to know what was curious, too.

Remus did have time to shoot a suspicious look at Sirius; he had a feeling his friend knew something he wasn't sharing.

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.**

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."**

"…" Nobody really knew what to say, but there were quite a few surprised expressions throughout the room. Sirius nodded slightly – that was how he felt at the end of the Tournament last year when he was present for Albus' and Harry's conversation about the same thing.

"It gets better," He said, loud enough to catch everyone's attention. They all turned to his grimly amused expression—even Severus was willing to listen to the dog if he gained more information about this secret that both Albus and the Dark Lord had kept from him.

"The Phoenix feathers…they were from Fawkes." He stated bluntly, to which Ron, Hermione, and Ginny gasped loudly.

"That explains so much!" Ginny said in explanation. The other two were nodding excitedly, as if a piece of the puzzle had just fallen into place.

"Fawkes has always had a soft spot for Harry," Hermione confirmed, thinking. "And it does make a perverse sort of sense…with how many times Harry's basically evaded death, a phoenix feather wand is fairly symbolic, if not downright prophetic."

The Potions professor was nodding (along with everyone else), thinking about how accurate that statement was for the other half of the equation as well. The Dark Lord had been flirting with death long before he was 'defeated' by the one year old Potter, though the death eater couldn't imagine Voldemort getting too cozy with Fawkes.

With the big surprise finally making its way out of people's systems, the room had quieted down slightly, and Arthur picked the book back up.

**Harry swallowed.**

**"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."**

"I suppose that's one interpretation of things…" Bill muttered.

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**

"What does he mean by 'your train'?" Molly asked suspiciously, suddenly having visions of a small eleven-year-old Harry lost on the London Underground with no money, food, or way to get anywhere.

"I'm sure it's fine, Molly," Arthur soothed, "Hagrid's probably jut referring to the specific train they need to get back to Privet Drive."

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

**"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life - and yet - he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

"It can be a little overwhelming, even for students raised in the Wizarding world," Minerva said sympathetically. As with Molly, her doubts about Hagrid's ability to properly prepare Harry were one again at the fore of her thoughts.

**"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry - I mean, the night my parents died."**

"Well, he definitely doesn't have that problem now," Sirius grumbled, "not that it's any comfort."

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

**"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts - I did - still do, 'smatter of fact."**

"He does know how to make you feel better, though," Hermione smiled sadly, remembering that awful time in Third year when she spent more time in the gamekeeper's hut than in her own common room.

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.**

**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me... See yeh soon, Harry."**

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

Arthur closed the book in silence and surveyed the room.

"Wait…that's it? He just dropped Harry on a train and disappeared?" Sirius had blanched in surprise. When the Wealsey just looked back at him with a shrug, he shook his head in disbelief. "Just when I thought Hagrid was doing alright, he goes and pulls a stunt like that…how in Merlin's name did Harry get back to Privet Drive from the train station? It's not like the Dursleys would be willing to pick him up….they may have still been on that stupid rock in the ocean!" He was interrupted in his stride by Severus, however.

"There's no point in whining about it Black; you're not going to find any answers here, so why don't you be quiet so we can keep going and finish this blasted undertaking as soon as possible."

"Honestly Severus, there's no need for…"

"You know what I think, Snape? You're a…"

"Was it really necessary to pick a fight right now…"

Four voices all clashed as the volume rose, suddenly filling the Library and making the space seem much smaller than it had minutes ago. The teens looked on in surprise, and a little bit of amusement. Hermione attempted to interrupt the group, but was simply drowned out, until Molly grew impatient and pulled her wand out.

POP POP POP!

The noise effectively pulled everyone's attention, and she cleared her throat when all eyes were on her.

"Thank you! Now, if we want to finish another chapter before Lunch, I suggest we all calm down and begin, otherwise this book alone will take a week, and the other six look much longer." Nobody wanted to argue, and so she picked up the book, and looked around one more. "So, who would like to continue?" No one answered, though a few people looked curious enough to consider volunteering.

"Uhh…what's the next chapter about?" Ron asked. His mother found the page and passed the book over. "Hmm…**The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters**," he read aloud, his face brightening. "It's the train ride! That means we show up, Hermione!" He smiled suddenly.

"Does that mean you want to read, Ronnie-kins?" Fred asked with a laugh at his brother's enthusiasm. However, the youngest brother suddenly paled, remembering exactly how Harry and his conversation had gone, he shook his head.

"No way! Uhh…" he looked around half desperately, "Neville! Why don't you read?" With that he thrust the book into his dorm mate's arms. The poor boy was so startled he almost dropped it, but gamely collected himself.

"Alright, I suppose…" He took a deep breath, and began.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>Me again... just wanted to add one more sorry in here, but don't worry, it looks like each progressive chapter I write gets longer than the last, so hopefully you don't think I cheated you!

Thanks again for sticking with me, and don't forget to leave your two cents... especially if you think I need some guidance.

Also, for anyone still reading this, I had a thought: I know many of you disagree with leaving Harry at the Dursley's right now, so I will _CONSIDER_ bringing him in _IF_ you can propose a way to do so without bypassing any of the problems previously mentioned, including not alerting Albus to the change in plans (which I think will be the hardest problem to avoid), and _KEEPING_ Harry under everyone's radar. I'm not guaranteeing I will change my mind, but I know my imagination sometimes has its limits, and I'd like to think I am open minded enough to take suggestions.

That is all... Happy 2014!

Toodles,

Voice-on-the-wind


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